When is my iPhone (too) old?
What do you think is an old iPhone? Does this mainly have to do with the outside, or are you thinking about something else? And, not unimportantly, when is an iPhone too old?
Read on after the ad.
Contents
When an iPhone is too old
From research by Telecom paper shows that half of all Dutch iPhone users use a model that is at least four years old. This is an interesting development, because a few years ago this percentage was even lower. The trend is therefore clear: iPhone users are spending more and more time with their smartphone.
But, technology moves at lightning speed. A five-year-old iPhone is logically slower than a brand new one. Every device loses power at some point, no matter how you turn it.
The moment when this becomes important is different for everyone. Some people are fine with waiting a few seconds before opening a WhatsApp message, while others want the chat to pop up right away.
However, the age of a phone is not just about physical age. At least as important is the software side of the story. In short, it is especially important that your phone receives (security) updates. If your iPhone falls by the wayside, it may be time to change your device.
One iPhone update is not the other
Apple releases two types of updates for iPhones. On the one hand you have so-called version updates. These add all kinds of new features and appear every year around September.
The version update of 2022 is iOS 16, which was recently announced. App developers can already get started with the beta; the final version will be released in mid-September along with the iPhone 14.
In addition, there are so-called security updates. Unlike version updates, these don’t add new features but update your iPhone’s security.
Each security update ‘closes’ certain vulnerabilities in the iOS system. Malicious persons look for these openings to worm themselves into your device, with all the consequences that entails. Security updates ensure that these holes are completely closed. This makes it more difficult for criminals to make victims.
Apple regularly releases updates. As mentioned, version updates appear once a year, usually around September. Security updates are coming out much more frequently. Sometimes this is part of an intermediate version update, such as iOS 15.5 that came out in May. However, security updates can also be rolled out ‘separately’.
How old is your iPhone?
Do you want to check whether your device is up-to-date? Grab your iPhone and open the Settings app. Tap General and choose Software Update. At the bottom of the screen you can see which software version your device is running on. In this screen you also have the option to install any new updates.
Has your device not received (security) updates for some time? Then we can officially label the iPhone as “old”. At that time, it is safer to get a new device – provided your financial situation allows it, of course.
Apple typically supports new iPhones with iPhones for five years. If you buy an iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro in September, you can assume that the device will receive new (security) updates until the autumn of 2027.
Good to know: the term of five years is minimal. Sometimes Apple gives a device longer updates, such as the iPhone 6S (Plus) and the first iPhone SE (from 2016). This term is very neat. Android phones generally have a shorter update period.
It is not without reason that Apple regularly shows off its update figures. For example, last January it was announced that more than 72 percent of iPhones run on iOS 15, the current version. This statistic needs to be nuanced somewhat. Apple only calculates with iPhones that are less than five years old. In other words: ‘old’ iPhones are out of the numbers.
Conclusion
It may be obvious. An iPhone is old when software support breaks down. Physical age is much less important. This is because iPhones have a good support term. The ‘update problem’ therefore mainly affects Android phones, where some devices only get updates for two to three years.
