How long will a phone I buy today keep getting updates?

A phone has three separate end dates that people merge into one: how long the hardware lasts, how long it receives new operating system versions, and how long it receives security patches. The last one is the one that determines whether the phone is safe to bank on, and it is the one that appears on no shop listing and in no comparison table.

Step by step

1. Find the manufacturer's stated commitment for that model.The major manufacturers now publish this on the product page or a dedicated support policy page, in the form of a number of years of OS upgrades and a number of years of security updates. Commitments have lengthened considerably in recent years, so an older article about a brand's policy may badly understate the current position.
2. Work out when the model was released, not when the shop got it.The support period runs from the release date of that specific model. Subtract the time it has already been on sale from the commitment to get what you will actually receive. This one calculation is the entire point of the exercise.
3. Read the two numbers separately.OS updates determine whether new apps and new versions of existing apps will keep installing. Security updates determine whether the phone is safe. Security support usually runs longer than OS support, sometimes by several years, so a phone can be safe but increasingly unable to run current apps.
4. Check the mid-range separately from the flagship.Manufacturers frequently give their flagship line a materially longer commitment than their mid-range and budget lines, even in the same year and the same brand. Do not carry an assumption across from a review of the expensive model.
5. Factor it into the price properly.A phone with five years of support at a higher price can be cheaper per year than a bargain handset with two. Divide the price by the years of security support remaining and compare that number instead of the headline price — it changes which phone wins surprisingly often.
6. Check refurbished and end-of-line stock especially carefully.The best discounts are on models nearing the end of their run, which is precisely when the remaining support is shortest. That may still be a good buy — but only if you decide it knowingly.
7. Check the update record, not just the promise.A commitment is only worth what the manufacturer delivers. Look at whether recent security patches for that model have actually shipped on time; some brands publish a long commitment and deliver patches months late, which is not the same thing.

Tips

• For a phone bought for a child or an older relative that will be handed down or kept a long time, the support commitment matters more than the camera or the processor.
• Apple does not publish a formal commitment but has a long observed track record; the practical way to judge it is to look at how old the oldest model supported by the current iOS release is.
• The phone's current security patch level is shown in the about section of settings. On a shop-floor demo unit, that tells you how well the brand keeps up in practice.
• Network-branded handsets sometimes receive updates later than the manufacturer's own, because the carrier tests them first. Buying unlocked usually means updates arrive sooner.

Questions people ask