Apple iOS and iPhone Guide: How to know if Apple still supports your smartphone?
About 8 years ago, Apple unveiled their first iPhone - iPhone 1G - bundled with their first mobile operating system - iPhone OS 1.x. iPhone 1G is the first mobile phone that works using multi-touch gestures. Although Apple already discontinued its support on the original iPhone, some of us could still be keeping (or even using) this smartphone which shocked the tech world in 2007.
From iPhone OS 1.x to the now iOS 8, much has been changed. New features were added and a few was dropped.
On September 17, 2014 Apple released iOS 8. iOS 8 is the newest operating system for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and Apple claimed it to be world’s most advanced mobile OS.
In this post, I will guide iPhone owners like you on how to:
distinguish your phone in terms of features and functionality
know if your device is already obsolete, discontinued or vintage
contact Apple for product support and information
Which iOS version for which Apple model?
Most iPhone models come equipped with primary and secondary features when purchased. The primary features are the phone, mail, Safari browser, music, videos, and Springboard or Home Screen. There is a long list of secondary features some of which are the messages, calendar, photos, camera, voice memos, calculator, settings, contacts, iTunes and appstore.
Music and videos first appeared on iPhone 3G. Panoramic, HDR and burst mode features of camera were first added on iPhone 3GS. FaceTime was first seen on iPhone 4. The Touch ID, a finger print recognition feature, is a function of iOS 7 and was first introduced in iPhone 5S. Car Play and AirDrop were also iOS 7 functionality that were unveiled together with iPhone 5.
The Nike + iPod, an activity tracker device, that was introduced in iOS 3 was removed in iOS 8.
Wikipedia has a comprehensive matrix of the iPhone series and the included applications or features on each model. For the complete list, you can visit this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS
Apple has this simple guide on how to easily identify your iPhone model. Here is the link: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201296
What is Apple’s Product Support Policy?
Apple has a clear-cut policy on hardware and software support discontinuation. It publishes a complete list of products that are already discontinued or which Apple no longer manufactures.
Your iPhone could fall into one of these categories.
Discontinued: software and hardware products that were superseded by improved versions. Apple's current hardware support policy provides for service and repair of products for up to five years following their discontinuation.
Vintage: software and hardware products that have not been manufactured for more than five and less than seven years ago.
Obsolete: software and hardware products that were discontinued more than seven years ago. Apple has discontinued all hardware service for obsolete products with no exceptions. Service providers cannot order parts for obsolete products.
For the complete list of Apple’s discontinued, vintage and obsolete products, you can visit these sites: https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht1752 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_products_discontinued_by_Apple_Inc.
Did Apple already discontinue its support to your iPhone?
iPhone OS 1.x, OS 2.x and OS 3.x are already obsolete software. iOS 4, iOS 5, iOS 6 and iOS 7 are already discontinued software. iPhone 1G has already been discontinued.
Before iOS 8, the latest version of iOS 7 was 7.1.2 which was released on June 30, 2014. As iOS 7 is already discontinued, this means that the product’s support discontinuation is already counting down by now.
How to know if Apple still supports your iPhone?
Apple usually announces the dropping of product support to each product whenever a new product or software is launched on their annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event. However, this is not always the case. The exact date of product discontinuation is sometimes nowhere to be found online but only from Apple.
To find out if your iPhone or iOS version is still covered by Apple’s service and support warranty, you may visit the Apple Support Communities or the Check Your Service and Support Coverage pages.
Alternatively, you can also visit the Software License Agreement page to better understand your use of Apple products.
