Whenever there's a new iPhone launch, Apple drops the support of some of its old iPhones. This week Apple has launched its iOS 18 system and iPhone 16 models. But this year, Apple is not fully letting go of its old iPhone models. One of the iPhone models Apple is continuing to support is iPhone XR. This model was launched in September 2018, which was six years ago. Apple has announced that it is going to support its 6 years old model for another year.
Apple is known for making its old models obsolete by taking away their software support on them every year. Last year, Apple made three iPhone models obsolete and there were more iPhone models made obsolete the year before. This was advantageous to Apple as users would then opt for newer iPhone models by paying about $500 more. There's a term for it known as “upgrade cycle” and it is a favorite of many investors.
This year, however, Apple has decided that it's not going to make any older iPhone models obsolete and will shift their operating system from iOS 17 to iOS 18. This makes about 28 iPhone models that Apple is supporting. Why is Apple doing this if it can earn revenue by making the models obsolete? The answer is that Apple strongly takes its customers seriously. If it makes iPhones obsolete every year, it isn't going to do good to their customers.
Apple is also working on artificial intelligence on its newer models but it won't be available till 2025. On the other hand, Samsung and Google are already selling smartphones with AI features in the market. If Apple stops its support on older iPhone models, their customers can start looking for smartphones from other companies. Losing even a small number of customers to Android would not be good for Apple. Apple has been gaining customers for some years now and it doesn't want to do anything that can make the company lose customers.
There are many Android handsets available in the market and Android companies are promising their customers that they will provide them with the latest device support. Samsung has said that it will provide support to its galaxy models for seven years now and that's Apple's plan too. Apple is just waiting for its Apple Intelligence to come to the market as it will be the biggest upgrade cycle in Apple's history.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: Apple’s Launch of iPhone 16 May Be A ‘Golden Upgrade Cycle’ But The Company Failed To Address Plans For China
Apple is known for making its old models obsolete by taking away their software support on them every year. Last year, Apple made three iPhone models obsolete and there were more iPhone models made obsolete the year before. This was advantageous to Apple as users would then opt for newer iPhone models by paying about $500 more. There's a term for it known as “upgrade cycle” and it is a favorite of many investors.
This year, however, Apple has decided that it's not going to make any older iPhone models obsolete and will shift their operating system from iOS 17 to iOS 18. This makes about 28 iPhone models that Apple is supporting. Why is Apple doing this if it can earn revenue by making the models obsolete? The answer is that Apple strongly takes its customers seriously. If it makes iPhones obsolete every year, it isn't going to do good to their customers.
Apple is also working on artificial intelligence on its newer models but it won't be available till 2025. On the other hand, Samsung and Google are already selling smartphones with AI features in the market. If Apple stops its support on older iPhone models, their customers can start looking for smartphones from other companies. Losing even a small number of customers to Android would not be good for Apple. Apple has been gaining customers for some years now and it doesn't want to do anything that can make the company lose customers.
There are many Android handsets available in the market and Android companies are promising their customers that they will provide them with the latest device support. Samsung has said that it will provide support to its galaxy models for seven years now and that's Apple's plan too. Apple is just waiting for its Apple Intelligence to come to the market as it will be the biggest upgrade cycle in Apple's history.
Read next: Apple’s Launch of iPhone 16 May Be A ‘Golden Upgrade Cycle’ But The Company Failed To Address Plans For China
