In most cases we all spend quite a bit money on our phones – Diana will tell you I spend too much! But whatever we spend, we all have an expectation of them lasting a number of years. However, when is a smartphone worn out? When the battery is no longer viable, when the screen or case breaks, when you get bored with it!
My thoughts on this are that the above can be sorted, including the “bored” option, I sold my iPhone onto my son, when I wanted an iPhone 14, but the phone becomes useless when the vendor stops supplying security updates and patches.
Apple have a reasonably good track record when it comes to iOS updates. The latest iOS 17 can be applied to apple iPhones that are over five years old and Apple recently released security patches for older devices, including the iPhone 6s, a phone they released in 2015.
Apple security releases – Apple Support
But most other vendors offer far less support periods. If you buy one of Samsung’s premium folding phones at more than £2000 or £85 per month, you will hope for more than four years of support, but that is all Samsung guarantees. You should check before you buy.
How to Tell When Your Phone Will Stop Getting Security Updates | WIRED UK
You should definitely check before you commit to running company information on devices that no longer receive security patches.
Clive Catton MSc (Cyber Security) – by-line and other articles
