It would be really helpful to know which iOS major versions are
security supported by Apple.
As developers, we use this information to determine how many hours, we put into backwards compatibility.
As owners of iPhones, we use this information to determine when we need to upgrade. And to valuate used iPhones.
Sites such as https://endoflife.date/ios and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_version_history#Overview are used a lot in giving an overview of support.
I have tried to argue that Apple still supports iOS 26, 18, 16, 15 and 12
https://github.com/endoflife-date/endoflife.date/issues/9852#issuecomment-4312532484,
but it is hard, when Apple does not publish any such statement.
Please consider publicly documenting which iOS versions are supported.
It does not necessarily have to set a future date for how long they will be supported.
I am aware of the pages https://developer.apple.com/news/releases/ and https://support.apple.com/en-us/100100, but these are just presented as lists of previous releases, with no statement that the versions are considered supported by Apple.
As BiNZGi wrote on https://github.com/endoflife-date/endoflife.date/issues/9852#issuecomment-4413680961
Hm, that is an interessting link, but unfortunately it does not state about support status or dates.
I checked previous versions of the page in web archive and on 9th jan version they only have iOS 26 & 18:
https://web.archive.org/web/20260109033359/https://developer.apple.com/news/releases/
I would be very helpful, if that page https://developer.apple.com/news/releases/ would have a headline saying supported releases, or similar.
Clearly Apple is not communicating clearly enough that those versions are supported, since wikipedia and https://endoflife.date/ios says they are not supported.
https://github.com/endoflife-date/endoflife.date/issues/9852#issuecomment-4409020504
this matters beyond classification accuracy: regulators (BSI in Germany, others) cite endoflife.date directly, and security-relevant app developers, including in regulated domains like medical software, are being forced to drop iOS 18 support based on endoflife.date
Topic:
Community
SubTopic:
Apple Developers
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