The lack of repairability of Apple products – I no longer buy Airpods as they are expensive e-waste – was always an issue for us. This was outweighed by the reassurance offered by Apple with its “walled garden” app store and the security features built into the devices. Although neither of these are as perfect as Apple would have you believe, it is still much better that the Android equivalents.
Longevity was another benefit of buying an iPhone. With the purchase of an iPhone 14 Pro Max a few weeks ago, my iPhone 12 Max Pro (which I had used for 3 years) and my iPhone X are both in use by my sons. An iPhone 8 is a company spare and my iPhone 5 is used as a music player – the iPhone 6 was stolen in Malaga airport, and bricked by the “Find My” app, the iPhone 4 bit the dust on a particularly wet camping trip!
Now Apple has announced their position on iOS updates. The good news is that security patches will be available across a range of iOS operating systems but only the latest iOS will be fully patched, not such good news. The other impact of this statement is that it may have an impact on the longevity of these devices going forward.
Apple’s statement:
Manage software updates for Apple devices – Apple Support (UK)
And here is an explanation:
Apple clarifies security update policy: Only the latest OSes are fully patched | Ars Technica
Clive Catton MSc (Cyber Security) – by-line and other articles
