Beyond personal preferences, it must be said that both iOS and Android are increasingly even in terms of functionalities, having two tremendously mature mobile operating systems. Now, the Cupertino company seems to still be one step ahead of Google in terms of the years of updates it gives to its devices, something that we have been seeing for years and that is confirmed again after the presentation of iOS 15.
The company led by Tim Cook announced this new software version last Monday, just at the beginning of its WWDC 2021 in which they presented more news. As always happens, we find very different opinions regarding what users expected of this operating system. However, there is something that few (or no one) can complain about and that is that, against all odds, the older iPhones that updated to iOS 14 may also do so to this next iOS 15.
7 years of updates on an iPhone!
At the time, the iPhone 5s broke the mold by having been Apple‘s longest-lived phone in terms of updates. Since it was launched in 2013 and until the summer of 2019 it continued to receive support, having iOS 12 as its latest operating system. However, this milestone will be broken very soon in favor of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launched in 2015 and that will arrive with support, at least, until mid-2022. To these will be added the first generation iPhone SE , which despite having launched in early 2016, it is considered to be of the same generation as these others as it incorporates the same processor (A9).
And this has been a major surprise, since all the rumors pointed to these three being left out and it would be the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus that would mark the cut-off line. Nothing is further from reality. Apple has brought the same iPhones to life since iOS 13 , the latest version of the system that left devices behind (the aforementioned iPhone 5s and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus).
On Android this cannot happen (at least for now)
The fundamental reason that Apple can update its devices for so many years and that serves as its main competitive advantage is that it is the company itself that designs the software and hardware of its devices, being able to optimize resources to the maximum. The same does not happen to Google, since its operating system is implemented in dozens of brands (Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, OnePlus, Realme, LG, Sony…). These other brands must adapt the operating system through their own customization layers, which makes it difficult not only to be able to update them for more years, but to be able to launch the updates globally simultaneously as Apple does.
As a general rule, these devices are updated 1-2 years at the most. They are only updated for more years in some cases and usually only with security patches, which is good, but does not come accompanied by visual or functional novelties. The only exception in Android are the Pixel, phones created by Google and that despite not being very popular in the market, are really interesting devices and also have the advantage of updating more years than other devices with this system, although the truth is that they do not offer the longevity of Apple.