Today, after nearly seven years, my iphone 6s finally gave up on me. I don’t know if it’s luck or my care, but I never had any issues with the charging lasting or with any lagging. Compared to new models that my family members have, my 6s is not noticeably slower, and I’ve never repaired anything other than getting a new screen.
Only a few months ago, the home button stopped functioned (touch id is still fine), but with assistive touch, it was only a minor inconvenience. However today, the phone started to glitch and the whole middle column section of the screen stopped responding to touch. Coupled with the broken home button (prevents forced shutdown), I’m pretty sure it’s beyond repair, but after all, seven years is a long time when others seem to go through phones every couple of years.
Because everyone I know seems surprised at the longevity of my 6s at it’s quality of performance, I wonder how much time can an iPhone really endure if treated with care but still used everyday. What do you all think?
While there’s nothing official from Apple, 7+ years is a decent bet. That’s because:
Historically (and this is absolutely not guaranteed), Apple has provided iOS upgrades (new features) for a period of 6ish years, plus iOS security updates/fixes (no new features) for an additional 1-2ish years. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone
By California law, Apple must be able to repair an iPhone for a period of seven (7) years. Note that this says nothing about the repair cost which could be $$$$$. It also applies to California only, although I expect Apple will do this over a larger area.
However, in order to last 7 or so years, maintenance such as battery replacements must be periodically done (and most people here seem to be allergic to that). Having Apple do the battery replacement is recommended as some random repair shop might not use the best batteries.