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How many software updates do iPhones get?
Published onFebruary 26, 2025
If you’re looking to spend several hundreds of dollars on a new smartphone, there are a few boxes the device needs to check. One important one is the update promise, or update commitment. If you are thinking of getting an Apple smartphone, you may also be wondering: how many software updates do iPhones get?
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Apple hasn't offered update promises in the past, but the company has been really good at supporting its devices for long periods. For example, the iPhone XR is the oldest phone to get iOS 18, and that phone was released in 2018. This is a seven-year-old product.
That said, recent UK regulations are forcing manufacturers to support their devices for at least five years, and Apple is complying with this. This means iPhones will get at least five years of support, starting with the iPhone 15.
On April 29, 2024, the UK’s Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) regulation came into effect. This regulation forces companies that manufacture, import, or distribute internet-capable products in the UK to comply with certain security requirements. This regulation aims to improve the security of consumer products that can connect to the internet, most notably IoT devices. Companies impacted by the regulation must provide statements of compliance that outline, among other things, the support period for which security updates will be provided.
Since iPhones are internet-capable products, Apple is required to comply with the UK’s PSTI regulation. The company recently published its compliance statement for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, revealing that its “defined support period” is a “minimum of five years from the first supply date.” The first supply date is listed as September 22, 2023, which is when the iPhone 15 series went on sale.
According to the text of the PSTI regulation, the defined support period is the “minimum length of time, expressed as a period of time with an end date, for which security updates will be provided.” A security update, meanwhile, is defined by the PSTI as a “software update that protects or enhances the security of a product, including a software update that addresses security issues which have been discovered by or reported to the manufacturer.”
Thus, Apple is affirming to the UK government that it will issue security updates for a minimum of five years from the launch date of the iPhone 15. In other words, the iPhone 15 is officially guaranteed to receive security updates until September 22, 2028.
As Google VP of Engineering for Android Security & Privacy, Dave Kleidermacher, pointed out, this means that Apple is not offering the best security update policy in the industry. Both Samsung and Google guarantee seven years of security updates and Android OS updates for their respective flagship devices, which is two years longer than Apple guarantees.
To Apple’s credit, though, it has long provided more than five years of security updates for its many iPhone devices. Some iPhones have received security updates six or more years after the initial release, which is far more support than the vast majority of Android devices receive. For example, the oldest Apple smartphone that has iOS 18 is the iPhone XR, which is from 2018. That is a seven-year-old phone!
While Samsung and Google currently beat Apple in terms of how long they’re guaranteeing software support, that doesn’t mean iPhones won’t continue to get support for as long as other devices. There’s still a chance they may be supported for longer. The only difference is that Apple is only securing five years, so whether you get updates for longer than that or not is up to Apple’s discretion.