[subject corrected]

Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote:

What matters is almost nobody knows the facts about Apple support.

I know it.
I knew it years ago.

You explicitly don't even know it *today*. lol.

When security researchers forced Apple to publicly admit what they support.

I'm intelligent.
I read what Apple was forced to admit. And I understood it.

It's time for your bed time. You're clearly tired and emotional.

But almost nobody on this newsgroup seems to have the slightest idea what Apple's full-support policy is, was, and always has been, for decades.

Apple's iOS full support is a *lot* shorter than most people "think" it is.
a. For iOS
b. For macOS

FACT:
1. iPhone 2G = 2.60 years of full support
2. iPhone 3G = 2.37 years of full support
3. iPhone 4 = 4.02 years of full support
4. iPhone 5 = 4.82 years of full support
5. iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus = 4.00 years of full support
6. iPhone SE (1st generation) = 6.46 years of full support
7. iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus = 5.99 years of full support
8. iPhone 8 & iPhone 8 Plus = 5.96 years of full support
9. iPhone X = 5.85 years of full support
10. iPhone XS & XS Max = 6.99 years of full support
11. iPhone XR = 6.89 years of full support
12. iPhone SE: (2nd Generation / 2020)

7 years full support (at least).

13. iPhone 11 Series: (11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max)

7 years full support (at least).

14. iPhone 12 Series: (12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max)

6 years full support (at least).

15. iPhone 13 Series: (13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max)
15a. SE 3rd Generation / 2022)
16. iPhone 14 Series: (14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max)
17. iPhone 15 Series: (15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max)
18. iPhone 16 Series: (16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, 16e)
19. iPhone 17 Series: (17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 17e, iPhone Air)

Q: What is the average time for iPhone iOS full support over two decades?
A: About 4.89 years

Yet again, I (and others) have to correct your workings. You've missed out
long standing models which have many years of support. So the average,
based on factual data, is nearer 5.5 years.

Given that's averaged over 20 years of iphones history, that's a fantastic support period.

If we only(!) go back a decade to the SE, the average jumps to about 6.5
years.

As the corrected subject states, this is exactly what is expected.

I dare you to post exactly the same post, but for Samsung and Pixel phones
on an android ng. Go on.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

On 3/25/26 3:38 PM, Chris wrote:

I dare you to post exactly the same post, but for Samsung and Pixel phones
on an android ng. Go on.

I already did that and Arlen admitted Apple's support was much better
until Pixel and Samsung caught up to Apple with their very recent 7 year policy. Can't wait until we see how well those two Android makers live
up to their promise and if Apple responds with a tweak to iOS!

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

On Thu, 26 Mar 2026 02:18:24 -0400, Maria Sophia wrote:

1. Samsung Galaxy S (The Original)
Shipped for retail sale on June 4, 2010.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 2.3.6 in Jan 2012.
585 days / 365 = 1.60 years for full support.

Thanks for these infos. But what does "Shipped for retail sale" mean?

The Galaxy S had been sold from 2010-06-04 - but in Singapore only.
2010-06-25 Malaysia and South Korea. 2010-07 in Germany. So these dates
are best case only, even if you could not buy the device at that time
yet?

13. Samsung Galaxy S22 / S22+ / S22 Ultra
Shipped for retail sale on Feb 25, 2022.
Lost Full-Parity: Feb 3, 2026.
1,439 days / 365 = 3.94 years for full support (now quarterly).

2022-02-25 was the S22 Ultra only - S22 and S22+ were not sold before
2022-03. So again best case, right?


I had bought a Motorola MOTO E (2nd gen) in 2015-05-20. It had been
released in 2015-02-02 with Android 5.0.2.

It was updated to 5.1.1 in 2015-04-24. But only some models, in some
countries, received an update to 6.0 in 2016-02.

At that time Motorola had been owned by Google. So I had expected for
some extended Android support for Google's own models - but I failed to notice that Google had not only bought Motorola in 2012-05, but sold to Lenovo
in 2014-10. So there have never been any updates for me.

According to your numbers that would have been 0.22 years?

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

On Thu, 26 Mar 2026 06:26:38 -0400, Maria Sophia wrote:

I had bought a Motorola MOTO E (2nd gen) in 2015-05-20. It had been
released in 2015-02-02 with Android 5.0.2.

It was updated to 5.1.1 in 2015-04-24. But only some models, in some
countries, received an update to 6.0 in 2016-02.

At that time Motorola had been owned by Google. So I had expected for
some extended Android support for Google's own models - but I failed to notice
that Google had not only bought Motorola in 2012-05, but sold to Lenovo
in 2014-10. So there have never been any updates for me.

According to your numbers that would have been 0.22 years?

Thanks for doublechecking the numbers. It's important to get the right numbers, where I don't care if they look good for Samsung or not.

You have to realize normal people aren't like Apple owners.
Normal people don't pray to the Apple God every day of their lives.

Normal people only care to know what the correct answer is.
Normal people don't try to defend the mothership to the death, no matter what. Only Apple owners do that for some wacky unknown strange reason.

Since I'm normal in that regard, I only want to know what the answer is.
I'm not like Apple owners who make excuses because Apple hates them.

I just tried to get the numbers for Chris & Tom at their request.
To that end, I thank you for helping hone the Samsung figures.

Motorola is not Samsung.

I never bothered to by phones, as expensive as an iPhone. But I had an
iPod touch once and was surprised, for how many years after they still
had provided system updates and upgrades.


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

On 3/26/26 2:18 AM, Maria Sophia wrote:

Tom Elam wrote:

On 3/25/26 3:38 PM, Chris wrote:

I dare you to post exactly the same post, but for Samsung and Pixel phones >>> on an android ng. Go on.

I already did that and he admitted Apple's support was much better
until Pixel and Samsung caught up to Apple with their very recent 7 year
policy. Can't wait until we see how well those two Android makers live
up to their promise and if Apple responds with a tweak to iOS!

Both Chris and Gondolfo Elam appear to want me to compare Apple's iPhone historical full support to that of the Samsung & Google iPhone competition.

I'm fine with that request (even as it's a bit of work to do on my part).

I don't defend Google or Samsung (or Microsoft) to the death.
I simply tell the facts the way the facts are.

I'm unbiased that way.

I never disagree with any logically sensible statement, where I don't disagree with Gondalfo Elam's and Chris' jointly agreed assessment that, historically, both the main competitors (Samsung & Google) to the iPhone, sucked on full support. I'm sure they both suck. Samsung more than Google.

I've never run the math though.
And likely, neither have Gondolfo Elam or Chris run the math.

We all know that today, both offer a promised 7 years of full support.
While the iPhone offers only a paltry five years of promised full support.

In addition, all Android 10+ phone's core modules are patched monthly. Forever. Which Apple simply can't compete with in terms of support.

But what is the historical full-support picture for those two brands?
I don't know.

We'd have to look at the competition to the iPhone to be fair to them.
While Samsung made phones in 2007 (like the SGH-F700), their first "real" shot at the iPhone was the original Galaxy S, released three years after
the iPhone.

Under the same Strict CVE Parity rule we applied to Apple, where "Full Support" means receiving the latest OS and all security patches, Samsung›s history is a veritable disaster compared to Apple›s early days. For the
first decade, Samsung was infamous for abandoning phones in under 2 years.

Here's my first pass at the data that Gondolfo & Chris just asked me for. (Please check it out to see if I made any errors as this is my 1st look.)

1. Samsung Galaxy S (The Original)
Shipped for retail sale on June 4, 2010.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 2.3.6 in Jan 2012.
585 days / 365 = 1.60 years for full support.

2. Samsung Galaxy S II
Shipped for retail sale on May 2, 2011.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 4.1.2 in April 2013.
708 days / 365 = 1.94 years for full support.

3. Samsung Galaxy S III
Shipped for retail sale on May 29, 2012.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 4.3 in Dec 2013.
560 days / 365 = 1.53 years for full support.

4. Samsung Galaxy S4
Shipped for retail sale on April 27, 2013.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 5.0.1 in April 2015.
730 days / 365 = 2.00 years for full support.

5. Samsung Galaxy S5
Shipped for retail sale on April 11, 2014.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 6.0.1 in April 2016.
731 days / 365 = 2.00 years for full support.

6. Samsung Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge
Shipped for retail sale on April 10, 2015.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 7.0 in Feb 2017.
672 days / 365 = 1.84 years for full support.

7. Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge
Shipped for retail sale on March 11, 2016.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 8.0 in May 2018.
791 days / 365 = 2.17 years for full support.

8. Samsung Galaxy S8 / S8+
Shipped for retail sale on April 21, 2017.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 9.0 in Feb 2019.
651 days / 365 = 1.78 years for full support.

9. Samsung Galaxy S9 / S9+
Shipped for retail sale on March 11, 2018.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 10 in Jan 2020.
671 days / 365 = 1.84 years for full support.

10. Samsung Galaxy S10 / S10+ / S10e
Shipped for retail sale on March 8, 2019.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 12 in Dec 2021.
1,018 days / 365 = 2.79 years for full support.

11. Samsung Galaxy S20 Series
Shipped for retail sale on March 6, 2020.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 13 in Nov 2022.
999 days / 365 = 2.74 years for full support.

12. Samsung Galaxy S21 / S21+ / S21 Ultra
Shipped for retail sale on Jan 29, 2021.
Last Full-Parity release: Jan 2026 Security Update.
1,831 days / 365 = 5.02 years for full support.
(Note: Completely abandoned by Samsung on Feb 3, 2026).

13. Samsung Galaxy S22 / S22+ / S22 Ultra
Shipped for retail sale on Feb 25, 2022.
Lost Full-Parity: Feb 3, 2026.
1,439 days / 365 = 3.94 years for full support (now quarterly).

If the data above is correct, the average Samsung main competitor to the iPhone between 2010 and 2020 appears to have 2.48 years of FULL support.

That 2.48 years sucks compared to the iOS full support of 4.89 years.
But please check my math as I'm trying to apply the same rules to Samsung's iPhone competitive phones as I did to the iPhone itse4lf (Apple's rules).
a. Either a phone is fully patched with all known CVE's,
b. Or it's not.

Since Gondolfo & Chris asked for the Pixel, here's my first pass at that.

1. Google Pixel / Pixel XL
Shipped for retail sale on Oct 20, 2016.
Last Full-Parity release: Dec 2019 Security Patch.
1,137 days / 365 = 3.12 years for full support.

2. Google Pixel 2 / 2 XL
Shipped for retail sale on Oct 19, 2017.
Last Full-Parity release: Dec 2020 Security Patch.
1,168 days / 365 = 3.20 years for full support.

3. Google Pixel 3 / 3 XL
Shipped for retail sale on Oct 18, 2018.
Last Full-Parity release: Feb 2022 Security Patch.
1,208 days / 365 = 3.31 years for full support.

4. Google Pixel 4 / 4 XL
Shipped for retail sale on Oct 24, 2019.
Last Full-Parity release: Oct 2022 Security Patch.
1,096 days / 365 = 3.00 years for full support.

5. Google Pixel 5
Shipped for retail sale on Oct 15, 2020.
Last Full-Parity release: Feb 2024 Security Patch.
1,213 days / 365 = 3.32 years for full support.

6. Google Pixel 6 / 6 Pro
Shipped for retail sale on Oct 28, 2021.
Lost Full-Parity: July 2025 (Demoted to Quarterly Updates).
1,341 days / 365 = 3.67 years for full support.
(Note: Currently missing 66 March 2026 CVE fixes).

7. Google Pixel 7 / 7 Pro
Shipped for retail sale on Oct 13, 2022.
Lost Full-Parity: Feb 2026 (Demoted to Quarterly Updates).
1,208 days / 365 = 3.31 years for full support.
(Note: Currently missing 66 March 2026 CVE fixes).

If the data above is correct, the average Samsung main competitor to the iPhone between 2016 and 2022 appears to have 3.28 years of FULL support.

Both Gondolfo Elam and Chris (and everyone else) should note that I don't care what the answer is, since all I care about are making good
assessments.

It doesn't matter to me if Apple comes out ahead or not.
I just want to know what the answer is.

Apparently, all iPhones averaged 4.89 years of FULL support.
All Samsung iPhone competitors averaged much less, at 2.48 years.
The Pixel competition to the iPhone was in the middle, at 3.28 years.

Please remember I'm nothing like most of you who post to the Apple
newsgroups in that I don't defend any company to the death, no matter what.

I simply care about knowing what the correct answer is.
My assessment?
a. Apple full iOS support used to be much better than Android was.
b. But moving forward from today, Apple full iOS support is much worse.

Note: I could add the Google Nexus line to the list above. Should I?

OMG! Apple went to ~6 year support long before Samsung's very recent 7
year promise.

Once again your poor logic and arithmetic skills are on display.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

On 3/26/26 4:03 AM, Martin ?rautmann wrote:

On Thu, 26 Mar 2026 02:18:24 -0400, Maria Sophia wrote:

1. Samsung Galaxy S (The Original)
Shipped for retail sale on June 4, 2010.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 2.3.6 in Jan 2012.
585 days / 365 = 1.60 years for full support.

Thanks for these infos. But what does "Shipped for retail sale" mean?

The Galaxy S had been sold from 2010-06-04 - but in Singapore only. 2010-06-25 Malaysia and South Korea. 2010-07 in Germany. So these dates
are best case only, even if you could not buy the device at that time
yet?

13. Samsung Galaxy S22 / S22+ / S22 Ultra
Shipped for retail sale on Feb 25, 2022.
Lost Full-Parity: Feb 3, 2026.
1,439 days / 365 = 3.94 years for full support (now quarterly).

2022-02-25 was the S22 Ultra only - S22 and S22+ were not sold before 2022-03. So again best case, right?

I had bought a Motorola MOTO E (2nd gen) in 2015-05-20. It had been
released in 2015-02-02 with Android 5.0.2.

It was updated to 5.1.1 in 2015-04-24. But only some models, in some countries, received an update to 6.0 in 2016-02.

At that time Motorola had been owned by Google. So I had expected for
some extended Android support for Google's own models - but I failed to notice
that Google had not only bought Motorola in 2012-05, but sold to Lenovo
in 2014-10. So there have never been any updates for me.

According to your numbers that would have been 0.22 years?

I had that vintage of Moto too. Very disappointing. Me next phone was
the iPhone 6s, and I never looked back.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

On 3/26/26 6:26 AM, Maria Sophia wrote:

Martin ?rautmann wrote:

On Thu, 26 Mar 2026 02:18:24 -0400, Maria Sophia wrote:

1. Samsung Galaxy S (The Original)
Shipped for retail sale on June 4, 2010.
Last Full-Parity release: Android 2.3.6 in Jan 2012.
585 days / 365 = 1.60 years for full support.

Thanks for these infos. But what does "Shipped for retail sale" mean?

Hi Martin,

I had never looked at Samsung nor Google when I was asked to compare to the iPhone, and I knew they both would come out worse but I didn't know how
much worse in terms of FULL support (as Apple defines FULL support).

No other OS vendor does things the way Apple does, so I already knew
Android doesn't even have the concept that Apple has of throwing a release off the cliff the instant the next release ships. Only Apple does that.

Apple drops full support like kids drop a hot potato.

But I wanted the criteria to be truthful to the concept that Apple defined.
1. The first date is the first day that the phone is offered for sale
2. The last date is the last FULL operating system update

Every other OS vendor overlaps releases with FULL system updates.
Only Apple refuses to fully support more than a single release.

So it isn't easy to compare Apple's FULL support to that of Android.

The Galaxy S had been sold from 2010-06-04 - but in Singapore only.
2010-06-25 Malaysia and South Korea. 2010-07 in Germany. So these dates
are best case only, even if you could not buy the device at that time
yet?

As I said, I was trying to faithfully answer Chris' and Tom Elam's question where they could have done the research but they didn't want to do it.

So I did it.
But I asked people to doublecheck the numbers.

13. Samsung Galaxy S22 / S22+ / S22 Ultra
Shipped for retail sale on Feb 25, 2022.
Lost Full-Parity: Feb 3, 2026.
1,439 days / 365 = 3.94 years for full support (now quarterly).

2022-02-25 was the S22 Ultra only - S22 and S22+ were not sold before
2022-03. So again best case, right?


I had bought a Motorola MOTO E (2nd gen) in 2015-05-20. It had been
released in 2015-02-02 with Android 5.0.2.

It was updated to 5.1.1 in 2015-04-24. But only some models, in some
countries, received an update to 6.0 in 2016-02.

At that time Motorola had been owned by Google. So I had expected for
some extended Android support for Google's own models - but I failed to notice
that Google had not only bought Motorola in 2012-05, but sold to Lenovo
in 2014-10. So there have never been any updates for me.

According to your numbers that would have been 0.22 years?

Thanks for doublechecking the numbers. It's important to get the right numbers, where I don't care if they look good for Samsung or not.

You have to realize normal people aren't like Apple owners.
Normal people don't pray to the Apple God every day of their lives.

Normal people only care to know what the correct answer is.
Normal people don't try to defend the mothership to the death, no matter what. Only Apple owners do that for some wacky unknown strange reason.

Since I'm normal in that regard, I only want to know what the answer is.
I'm not like Apple owners who make excuses because Apple hates them.

I just tried to get the numbers for Chris & Tom at their request.
To that end, I thank you for helping hone the Samsung figures.

It's Android people who pray to the Android god for an update. Apple's
updates are regular and predictable. You know when Apple starts seeding updates, and can predict a release. With Android you wait, and wait, and
wait, hoping your phone version gets the next OS or security update.
Samsung and Pixel are the exceptions, not the rule.



--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

On 3/26/26 11:52 AM, Maria Sophia wrote:

Still, it may be a red herring for us to discuss FULL support differences given that the current support for both iPhones and Android phones results
in the same security overall.

So you finally admit that your long string of claiming Samsung's 7 years
of support claim for some of it's models is really no better to the
average person than Apple's support for all it's models.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

On 3/26/26 11:52 AM, Maria Sophia wrote:

Tom Elam wrote:

Note: I could add the Google Nexus line to the list above. Should I?

OMG! Apple went to ~6 year support long before Samsung's very recent 7
year promise.

Once again your poor logic and arithmetic skills are on display.

Hi Tom,

I never disagree with any logically stated viewpoint.

If we look at historical full support for iOS, it's better than historical full support for Android competitors to the iPhone, nobody disagrees.

As I had stated many times, I'm not a religious zealot.
I don't defend the mothership to the death, no matter what.

I just tell it like it is.

Apple iOS support used to be much better than Android competitor's support. But today, the Android competitors FULL support is better than Apple's.

a. Galaxy S = 7 years, 7 updates (8 Android versions, in toto)
b. iPHone = 5 years, no specified number of updates

In addition, all Android 10+ phones core modules update monthly. Forever.

You did it again. Not "the Android competitors" but "two Android
competitors". Stop your lying please!

Based on Apple's ten year history it's not 5 years, it's more like 5-6
years. And Apple has advanced the hardware so fast that full updates
past 6 years are problematical.

Why are you so hung up on "full" updates anyway?

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

Tom Elam <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com> wrote:

[...]

You did it again. Not "the Android competitors"
but "two Android competitors". Stop your lying please!

[...]

It's Arlen...

--
^?^. Sn!pe, bird-brain. My pet rock Gordon just is.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote:

Tom Elam wrote:

On 3/25/26 3:38 PM, Chris wrote:

I dare you to post exactly the same post, but for Samsung and Pixel phones >>> on an android ng. Go on.

I already did that and he admitted Apple's support was much better
until Pixel and Samsung caught up to Apple with their very recent 7 year
policy. Can't wait until we see how well those two Android makers live
up to their promise and if Apple responds with a tweak to iOS!

Both Chris and Gondolfo Elam appear to want me to compare Apple's iPhone historical full support to that of the Samsung & Google iPhone competition.

I'm fine with that request (even as it's a bit of work to do on my part).

It would be useful to know what your source of data was.

I don't defend Google or Samsung (or Microsoft) to the death.
I simply tell the facts the way the facts are.

I'm unbiased that way.

Sure...

I never disagree with any logically sensible statement, where I don't disagree with Gondalfo Elam's and Chris' jointly agreed assessment that, historically, both the main competitors (Samsung & Google) to the iPhone, sucked on full support. I'm sure they both suck. Samsung more than Google.

I've never run the math though.
And likely, neither have Gondolfo Elam or Chris run the math.

We all know that today, both offer a promised 7 years of full support.

Which is all we have; a promise. Given this is almost 100% longer than
they've ever managed before, let's see how it actually pans outout before crowing about how amazing it is.

While the iPhone offers only a paltry five years of promised full support.

Yet your data shows that they have always surpassed it in the last 10
years. For *all* phones. In recent years, 7 seems the norm.

<snip useful datapoints >

If the data above is correct, the average Samsung main competitor to the iPhone between 2010 and 2020 appears to have 2.48 years of FULL support.

Which is why I moved to iphone. I was buying androids with promised support which never materialised and vendors didn't care.

If the data above is correct, the average Samsung main competitor to the iPhone between 2016 and 2022 appears to have 3.28 years of FULL support.

Both Gondolfo Elam and Chris (and everyone else) should note that I don't care what the answer is, since all I care about are making good
assessments.

It doesn't matter to me if Apple comes out ahead or not.
I just want to know what the answer is.

Apparently, all iPhones averaged 4.89 years of FULL support.
All Samsung iPhone competitors averaged much less, at 2.48 years.
The Pixel competition to the iPhone was in the middle, at 3.28 years.

Please remember I'm nothing like most of you who post to the Apple
newsgroups in that I don't defend any company to the death, no matter what.

I simply care about knowing what the correct answer is.

Great.

My assessment?
a. Apple full iOS support used to be much better than Android was.

Correct.

b. But moving forward from today, Apple full iOS support is much worse.

You're literally contradicting yourself.


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

a Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote:

Chris wrote:

We all know that today, both offer a promised 7 years of full support.

Which is all we have; a promise. Given this is almost 100% longer than
they've ever managed before, let's see how it actually pans outout before
crowing about how amazing it is.

Hi Chris,

I never disagree with any logically sensible statement, no matter who says it, so I agree with you that a written promise is just that. A promise.

a. Samsung promised the UK 7 years of full support (& 7 major upgrades).
b. Apple promised the UK 5 years of full support (unknown # of upgrades).

The statements are valid internationally, not just the UK.

However, I strongly suspect there are legal strings attached to both.

You suspect wrong.

The UK's Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires that goods must:
a. Match their description
b. Be of satisfactory quality
c. Last a reasonable length of time

Lol. Wrong. That last one should be "fit for purpose". You should stick to things you understand.

Under satisfactory quality there is a provision for expected lifetime of
goods, but it isn't hard and fast nor is it dependent on a manufacturer's claim. There's a blanket view that in England & Wales the limit is six
years and Scotland is five.

If a company publicly commits to a specific support window, that becomes
part of the "description" where failing to meet it could expose them to:
a. Regulatory scrutiny
b. Complaints upheld by claims courts
c. Potential claims for repair, replacement, or partial refund

Maybe and would have to be on a large scale plus be a significant misrepresentation (like the VW dieselgate emissions fraud). More likely to
sit under the "quality" provisions rather than "description".

So while you're right that a promise is still a promise, it's not empty.
Once submitted, it becomes a binding representation from Apple & Samsung.

Nope. You're simply hoping this is the case.

The facts remain: a) Samsung/Google have never supported their *flagship* phones for more than 4 years, b) Apple has supported *all* phones released
in the last 10 years for at least six years. Actions speak louder than
words.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

On 3/27/26 4:18 PM, Maria Sophia wrote:

I don't defend any mothership to the death, no matter what, because I only care to correctly understand how long Apple's support truly is from facts.

Apple's FULL security-update behavior for *full* iOS support
a. Longest full iOS support: 6.99 years (iPhone XS / XS Max)
b. Shortest full iOS support: 2.37 years (iPhone 3G)
c. Average full iOS support: 5.10 years
d. Typical full iOS support: ~4-6 years depending on model

Even if we take the *best possible scenario* for the length of Apple iOS operating system support, it's still dismally short compared to Windows.

Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: How long after release does Apple still provide "security updates"?
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2026 15:13:00 -0400
Message-ID: <10q6krt$jv7$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com>

Microsoft Windows is the king of support in terms of overall time duration: 1. Windows XP was released on October 25, 2001
2. The last known security update was released on May 14, 2019
3. That is 6,421 days, or 17.59 years of security updates after release

Apple's real security-update behavior for *any* security patch:
a. iOS average: 1.6 years
b. macOS average: 2.8 years

Note "security update" is the longest possible given it's not full support.

This is why Apple's UK "5-year security update" claim may be legally compliant
but practically almost meaningless since "security update" is not "full update". .

Microsoft typically offered mainstream (their term) support for about 5
years and extended for another 5 or so, but it varied widely by release.
That is exactly the Windows 10 timing, but critics claim precedent was
broken. Resistance to Windows 11 for some is predicated on the
requirement for a Microsoft account and the fact that a Microsoft
engineer allegedly stated that Windows 10 would be the last version.

Your XP dates are not correct. Windows XP was supported for a bit over
12 years, not 17.8. Released in October 2001, official mainstream
support ended on April 14, 2009, with final extended support ending on
April 8, 2014. The May 2019 update is an outlier. In fact, you claimed
that an iPhone 6 update that came out this January was an update!

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

On 2026-03-25 23:18, Maria Sophia wrote:

Tom Elam wrote:

On 3/25/26 3:38 PM, Chris wrote:

I dare you to post exactly the same post, but for Samsung and Pixel phones >>> on an android ng. Go on.

I already did that and he admitted Apple's support was much better
until Pixel and Samsung caught up to Apple with their very recent 7 year
policy. Can't wait until we see how well those two Android makers live
up to their promise and if Apple responds with a tweak to iOS!

Both Chris and Gondolfo Elam appear to want me to compare Apple's iPhone

"Gondolfo Elam"?

Is that one of those insults you claim you were never going to engage in?

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Subject: Re: [Correction] Apple's iOS full support is exactly as long as expected.

On 2026-03-26 08:52, Maria Sophia wrote:

Tom Elam wrote:

Note: I could add the Google Nexus line to the list above. Should I?

OMG! Apple went to ~6 year support long before Samsung's very recent 7
year promise.

Once again your poor logic and arithmetic skills are on display.

Hi Tom,

I never disagree with any logically stated viewpoint.

If we look at historical full support for iOS, it's better than historical full support for Android competitors to the iPhone, nobody disagrees.

As I had stated many times, I'm not a religious zealot.
I don't defend the mothership to the death, no matter what.

I just tell it like it is.

Apple iOS support used to be much better than Android competitor's support. But today, the Android competitors FULL support is better than Apple's.

a. Galaxy S = 7 years, 7 updates (8 Android versions, in toto)
b. iPHone = 5 years, no specified number of updates

So you compare one cherry-picked Android phone...

...against ALL iPhones ever.

Got it.

In addition, all Android 10+ phones core modules update monthly. Forever.

But those core modules do not comprise the entire OS...

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.13
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)