In order to comply with the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Act in the UK, Apple says it will provide security updates for iPhones for a minimum of five years.
While Apple has not previously abandoned iPhone users and left them with insecure devices — in fact, the company has been known to release updates for very old handsets in extraordinary circumstances — it has never previously committed to any particular period of support.
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As spotted by Android Authority, Apple recently published a PSTI compliance statement for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Within this document, the “defined support period” is specified as “Minimum 5 Years from the first supply date”.
The statement is dated April 29, which makes sense as this is when the PSTI Act came into force. It is important to note Apple’s wording here: it is a minimum of five years, leaving open the possibility of support beyond this timeframe.
Although the PSTI Act only applies in the UK, this is another instance in which it is difficult to imagine Apple failing to implement the same policies on a global scale. The change to stating a minimum period of device support will not only bring peace of mind to iPhone users, but also bring Apple in line with the likes of Samsung and Google who have long provided guarantees about security update provision — both offering 7 years of security and OS updates.
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