I've currently got an iphone 6, and my mother has been thinking about switching from an old nokia to a newer smartphone. I think the iphone 6 is great but i've had it for a few years. We've looked at the Iphone 6s, but my worry is that it might not be supported in 2 years time. I do not know this, but i'd like to know. Will she need to worry about it not being supported in a few years? She will probably be using it for a while if she ends up buying it, so having it be outdated in 2 years would suck.
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iPhone 6(S)/Plus Getting a new phone for my mother.
- Thread starter Peter573
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It doesn't really matter at this point whether an iPhone is "supported" in the future or not. Critical malware isn't going to end up on iOS at this point. This isn't Windows XP.
There's untold numbers of people intentionally running older versions of iOS to this day because they're not happy with what the newer versions have brought.
Buy an iPhone 6S and use it until it no longer works anymore.
There's untold numbers of people intentionally running older versions of iOS to this day because they're not happy with what the newer versions have brought.
Buy an iPhone 6S and use it until it no longer works anymore.
Some apps are no longer supported on IOS older than 9.3.5 or something like that. So it matters to me ;p
Based on the current period Apple is supporting iOS devices with software updates I would expect the 6s to get iOS 13 & 14, so that means a little over 2 years of software updates. Of course none of this is guaranteed and they could support the 6s for shorter or longer. Also, while the 6s is a good phone (I did use one for 3 years), it does have battery issues, so it only continues to work well if you replace the battery roughly every 2 years (more or less, YMMV). If she is looking at using it for many years and wants to have the latest software I would suggest at least a 7 or 8.
Even if it is supported for 2 extra years, it is not a new phone. Even if you get it new, the battery was made a long time ago and could be old without any cycles. For longevity in apps and updates you need to buy something newer, like the 8. The 6S has its best years behind it.
iOS 12 supports up to the 5S, and there is speculation that iOS 13 will drop the 5S and 6 due to the 1GB of ram. The 6S might be fine for a while, but it is only 2 years newer. If I was to bet, I would say the 6S has 2 or 3 more iOS versions left.
You can also look into a iPhone SE, which has most of the 6S internals but was released about a year later so it might have a longer support period.
Even if it unsupported, she can still use it normally. Phone calls and text still work on iPhone 4 devices, so the basics are covered for a long time even if app support drops.
iOS 12 supports up to the 5S, and there is speculation that iOS 13 will drop the 5S and 6 due to the 1GB of ram. The 6S might be fine for a while, but it is only 2 years newer. If I was to bet, I would say the 6S has 2 or 3 more iOS versions left.
You can also look into a iPhone SE, which has most of the 6S internals but was released about a year later so it might have a longer support period.
Even if it unsupported, she can still use it normally. Phone calls and text still work on iPhone 4 devices, so the basics are covered for a long time even if app support drops.
Though there are outlier cases (primarily in MacOS space), safe to assume a 5yr window on Apple gear before they drop hardware support and or software support.
6S being 2015 device, will get 1-2 more major software updates, and after that, out-of-luck. Upside, these updates are 64-bit support only, so, no worries about 32-bit apps.
As for app specific support, that is more on the developer and not Apple as only conditions Apple puts on developers is to update their apps for modern "standards" (ie. notch support, 64-bit, etc).
6S being 2015 device, will get 1-2 more major software updates, and after that, out-of-luck. Upside, these updates are 64-bit support only, so, no worries about 32-bit apps.
As for app specific support, that is more on the developer and not Apple as only conditions Apple puts on developers is to update their apps for modern "standards" (ie. notch support, 64-bit, etc).
iPhone 6 is not worth it anymore. Hasn't been since 2015. 6S will be good for 3/4 years in terms of app support, and if you get a new battery it should be fine. iPhone 7 is not worth it either, not much better than the 6S. If you intend to get something newer than 6S I would get the iPhone 8.
Definitely the 4.7-iPhone 7. I don’t think the 6S is a poor choice by any means, but being that your mother likely doesn’t upgrade or has the need to, it’s probably a safer alternative opting for one year newer at the iPhone 7.
Can you hand over your phone to your mother and let her get a feel of iOs. In the meanwhile, you can try the SE/7/8 or later phones, as per your budget. If the headphone jack is of any concern, the 6S and SE are the only 2 options you have.
Good point about the Plus. And one thing nice about the iPhone, is under the accessibility options, you can enlarge/bold the text that will help with viewing.
I don’t know how old your mother is, but one thing to consider is the size and weight of the phone for an older user. I am a little older, and use the phone a lot for my job. My hands are not small. I had the I phone 6 which I love. I read that they are not going to keep updates coming for the phone after this summer. I bought the XR last week in beautiful Coral. I loved it. I brought it back yesterday and exchanged for the IPhone 8. The reason it is too heavy to hold and too wide. I began getting pains in my hand from holding it. Also numbness. It had to go back. The 8 is much better. If Apple helps making large ,heavier phones this will be my Iphone. They need to think about how big are they going to go. .
