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iPhone 4S security updates?
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Probably not unless there's something really bad like the SSL bug where they made a special 6.1.6 patch for certain devices
Very unlikely that the 4s will receive any more updates once iOS 10 is released to the public in the fall. As mentioned above Apple did release a special patch in 2014 for devices still on iOS 6 that were not supported in iOS 7 (iPod Touch 4, iPhone 3GS) to patch a serious security bug, but that is the only time this has happened with iOS so far.
What similar devices are still supported? When iOS 10 has its wide release, the 4s will be 5 generations old! Sorry, but no one can really complain about 5 years of regular updates.
So strange. People act like their phone is going to stop working altogether when they can't get the latest iOS. The iPhone 4s is almost 5 years old now. Try using Android, most Android phones that are over a year old don't even have the latest version of Android.
Okay, you can complain as much as you want, but you're talking about a device that now has a quarter of the RAM of the current model and a processor that's soon to be 5 generations out of date, and is 32-bit when 64 has been the standard since 2013.
It's not planned obsolescence, and you're not being screwed. Phones have advanced a lot in the last 5 years. Something from 2011 can't be expected to keep up with the capabilities of phones in 2016. Most Android phones may get only 1 or 2 major OS updates. The 4s has had 4.
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Alright then, throw it away. No 5 year old phones are still getting any kind of official updates. The iPhone 4S is literally the oldest phone still receiving updates.
You want a portable device that's going to get updates for a while? Don't buy a phone. Buy a laptop with built-in LTE or an LTE dongle, and use that as your phone. It will receive Windows updates for a far greater amount of time than any smartphone will. Can't put it in your pocket? Well, that's the tradeoff you're going to have to make if you insist on having a device that gets more than a half-decade's worth of updates.
As others have said, it will probably still receive security patches if major vulnerabilities are found, but at some point, it stops being worth a company's time and effort to focus on protecting a product that's been out of production for years.
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No one is being an Apple apologist. This is just reality. No company is still providing regular support for their 2011 flagship.
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No one is being an Apple apologist. This is just reality. No company is still providing regular support for their 2011 flagship.
Continue using it as is. There are people out there still using windows XP even though it's not being maintained by Microsoft anymore.
It sounds like you don't really want to have a constructive conversation.
But everyone else did get a pass despite supporting their devices for a shorter amount of time?
I'm just saying that no one else has supported their 2011 phone even this long. That's a simple, objective, fact.
Exactly. But even then, Nexus devices are supported for a pretty good amount of time. At some point, you just have to choose the best option available and move on. For post-purchase software updates, that is currently Apple. And like I alluded to, the right Android phone will last you a good while as well. Maybe not as long as you'd like, but that's just not going to happen anytime soon.
In terms of specs, Apple has never been a leader. Other 2011 flagships almost certainly had more RAM and probably higher clocked processors than the 4s. That's why it's a wonder that Apple manages to run current software on their phones for as long as they do, and why everyone here is baffled by why you're complaining.
I was not talking about flagships, but mid-range, like my wimpy Sony Ericsson.