It's still less than certain, for example whether an old handset will run the latest version of the OS two years after the phone's introduction. There are hundreds of smartphone makers that use (and alter) Android. Overall, the product cycle on Android phones is less consistent than on iPhones. This includes Galaxy phones that aren't using Qualcomm chipsets. Qualifying phones include the Xiaomi Mi 11, the OnePlus 9 and, well, the Samsung Galaxy S21.Īs for Samsung, it now guarantees four years of security updates for all Samsung Galaxy phones released in 2019 and later, beginning with the Galaxy 10 and Galaxy Note 10 series. Google later upped that to five years of security updates for its Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones, although the devices, like all Pixel phones, would get only three years of Android OS updates.įor Qualcomm, it means that all phones with Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets, beginning with the Snapdragon 888 that appeared on many 2021 flagships, will get four years of security updates and three Android version upgrades. Google, Samsung and chipset maker Qualcomm in late 2020 and early 2021 all committed to providing four years of security updates for some devices. After three years, you were better off getting a new phone. Gauging an Android phone's safe-use limits can be harder, as Android phones are not as standardized as iPhones.Ī couple of years ago, an Android phone wouldn't get any more security updates if it was more than three years old, and that's provided it can even get all the updates before then. How long can you safely use an old Android phone? Perhaps Apple doesn't want to reveal how many people are still safely using iPhones that are even older. But it's better to be safe than sorry, especially when Apple makes upgrading the operating system so easy and convenient.Īs of January 2022, according to Apple's own figures (opens in new tab), roughly 72% of iPhone users had upgraded to iOS 15 and were receiving periodic security updates - but that was only on devices less than five years old. There still isn't a lot of iOS malware out there, so your chances of getting infected are slim, even if you do use an iPhone that's more than six or seven years old. ![]() We would have put money on a bet that the iPhone 6s wouldn't be able to run iOS 15, but Apple surprised us by giving the six-year-old phone (and the original iPhone SE) another year of life in September 2021. ![]() The oldest iPhone that iOS 14 (and iOS 15) can run on is the iPhone 6s, from September 2015. But you would be able to use iOS 13, released in September 2019. That's pretty generous considering that most people get a new smartphone every two or three years.įor example, if you are using an iPhone 6, released in September 2015, it might be difficult to upgrade to iOS 14, released in September 2020. How long can you safely use an old iPhone?Īpple supports its smartphones for at least five years, sometimes longer, after a model is released, giving the devices the latest versions of iOS and the latest patches to known vulnerabilities.
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