Apple has the worst operating system full hotfix support in the industry - Microsoft has the best

badgolferman wrote on Fri, 7 Jun 2024 00:58:03 -0000 (UTC) :

Apple has the worst (by far) bugfix support in the entire industry.
 
 *Apple promises at least 5 years of iPhone security updates, but Samsung and Google offer longer support for Android updates*
 <https://www.idownloadblog.com/2024/06/06/apple-iphone-updates-support-timeframe-united-kingdom/>
 
Nobody on the adult phone newsgroups will be shocked, but since the
child-like phone newsgroups never believe facts, lots of references are
included below because they always say they hate any given authors.
 
Also note that Google updates over two dozen core modules every month for
the billions of Android 10+ phones that are on the Internet - which has no
end of life stated - so we can assume (for now) that will happen forever.
  "Google System updates are fully automated. Originally referred to
   as Project Mainline, these monthly updates fix bugs discovered in
   various core OS components like device connectivity, location services,
   media services, Emergency alerts, and others."
   <https://www.androidheadlines.com/2022/01/google-monthly-changelog-play-system-updates.html>
 
Meanwhile, Apple has never fully supported more than a single release.
 <https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/about-software-updates-depc4c80847a/>
 
Apple's iOS monolith didn't even have the concept of a "hotfix" until recently.
 <https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201224>
 
Which is partly why Apple iPhones are the most exploited in history.
 <https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog>
 
The other reason Apple devices have twice the zero day holes is Apple's
hotfix support is actually the worst (by far) in the entire industry.
 <https://screenrant.com/apple-product-security-update-lifespan/>
 <https://hothardware.com/news/apple-admits-only-fully-patches-security-flaws-in-latest-os-releases>
 <https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/10/apple-clarifies-security-update-policy-only-the-latest-oses-are-fully-patched/>
 
And, more to the point of the news reported today, Apple will only commit
to "at least" five years of full support for any of their iPhone models.
 *Apple finally confirms how long it will support iPhones*
        *and it's less than Samsung and Google*
 <https://www.androidauthority.com/iphone-software-support-commitment-3449135/>
 
And, get this: Apple only did so because the UK forced them to do it!
 *Apple Commits to at Least Five Years of iPhone Security Updates*
 "Apple has revealed its commitment to a minimum of five years of
  iPhone security software updates from the date a device is
  launched, thanks to a new legal requirement in the United Kingdom"
 <https://www.macrumors.com/2024/06/06/apple-iphone-security-updates-five-year-minimum/>
 
Further references below because the Apple religious zealots always
say they don't like any particular author of every fact they hate.
 *Apple will provide a minimum of five years of iPhone security updates*
 <https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/6/24172843/apple-iphone-minimum-five-years-security-updates>
 
 *Apple Reveals Its iPhone Gets at Least 5 Years of Security Updates*
 <https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/apple-reveals-its-iphone-gets-at-least-five-years-of-security-updates/>
 
 *Apple commits to 5 years of security updates for the iPhone, but that's not the whole story*
 <https://mashable.com/article/apple-iphone-security-updates-5-years>
 
 *Apple says your new iPhone will get at least five years of security updates*
 <https://www.imore.com/iphone/apple-says-your-new-iphone-will-get-at-least-five-years-of-security-updates-but-history-suggests-itll-be-significantly-longer>
 
 *Apple commits to minimum of five years of iPhone security software updates from the date a device is launched
 <https://appleworld.today/apple-commits-to-minimum-of-five-years-of-iphone-security-software-updates-from-the-date-a-device-is-launched/>
 
While the Apple religious zealots will hope to dear God that Apple
will fully support their devices longer than that, Apple still only
fully supports a single release - such that here's are reasons iPhones
always have more zero day holes and there are reasons why the iPhone
is (and always was!) the most actively exploited phone in history.
 *End of Life? End of Support? End of Security Updates?*
 <https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8415153>
 
Apple never advertises it has the worst hotfix support in the industry.

>
 
In your opinion what is a reasonable amount of time for a manufacturer to
support a device's hardware and software? When should they divert those
resources of money, time, engineers, research to newer devices? 5, 7, 10,
20 years?

How long has Microsoft supported PCs which are currently on Win 10/11?

It's clear that Apple has the worst hotfix support in the industry while
Microsoft has the best - where we're talking full & complete bugfixes.

For every single bug that the companies are aware of for all the devices.
Apple promises (at least) five years only (and only one release at a time).
Samsung/Google promise (at least) seven years (and seven releases at a
time).

But check out Microsoft support for the best in the entire industry!
Microsoft supported many hardware configurations for almost two decades.

Windows 10 shipped July 29, 2015 and it allowed for a free upgrade to
Windows 11 for all PC hardware that met H/W requirements, so that's
currently about 9 years plus another 10 years or so for Windows 11.

Even if your PC H/W couldn't handle Windows 11, Windows 10 was a free
upgrade from Windows 7 and 8.1 users where Windows 7 released on July 22,
2009 and became generally available on October 22, 2009 while Windows 8.1
was released to OEM hardware partners on August 27, 2013, and released
publicly as a free upgrade through Windows Store on October 17, 2013.

With Windows 10 slated to end it's monthly hotfix support on October 14,
2025, older PCs (that might not run Windows 11) had enjoyed more than 15
years of full support for all bugs that Microsoft was aware of.

It's harder to say how long more capable hardware that can be upgraded to
Windows 11 will be but fifteen or maybe even twenty years seems like a
reasonable time period given the history of Microsoft's full support.

Mind you, this is full hotfix support for all bugs Microsoft is aware of.
And full hotfix support for all bugs Apple, Google & Samsung are aware of.