Reply to post: Re: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s are different things

Apple ditches support for pre-2015 MacBook Air, Pro laptops with macOS Monterey

DS999 Silver badge

Re: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s are different things

I doubt many end users know not to use a phone that isn't being regularly patched

Oh I don't disagree, there is a reason why there were so many Windows XP installs years after support for it ended, and why there are a pretty fair number of Windows 7 installs now despite Microsoft doing their best to force people into a free upgrade to Windows 10.

These worries about how long a phone is supported with patches is not a concern of the average smartphone buyer. You ask them if iPhone or Android get software updates longer and you'll get a blank look from most. Ask them why they should care and their eyes will glaze over.

The general public completely ignored Windows malware until ILoveYou and a few others hit within a short period of time. I suspect we will need to see one or more widespread malware outbreaks (or the modern equivalent, some sort of smartphone-based ransomware) for people to start noticing. The problem for Android is that OEMs are in control of patching, not Google. Imagine if Microsoft had to rely on Dell and Acer to distribute Windows patches!

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