Windows Phone guaranteed updates

[stefanosGR]

Do you know how long guaranteed upgrades they have Lumia devices? People say 18 months and another 3 years. What is the truth? Have you an article that says?

 

[RumoredNow]

A lot depends on the carrier if it is a carrier branded phone. The carrier can decline to push updates at any time. A famous example is the Lumia 810 for T-Mobile. It is stuck on Windows 8.0 Lumia Amber. That phone was released in October 2012 as a T-Mo exclusive.

In February 2013 the Lumia 520 launched. It is a humble value phone, but has sold more units all over the world than any other Windows Phone and comprises over 25% of Windows phones in operation. Some of the carrier branded units are stopped at 8.1 + Cyan, some carrier units and all the Factory Unlocked ones are current at 8.1 + Denim and Microsoft will offer Windows 10 to this device. Microsoft will push the OTA to Factory Unlocked variants and it is up to the carriers if they want to pass it to branded phones. When Win 10 Mo hits this fall and Lumia 520s upgrade to it, they will be over 2.5 years old...

Best bet is always going to be factory unlocked.

iPhone phases out their hardware over time and only likes the current and last model to be supported fully. Android phones receive shockingly little official support for updates - there is only the illusion due to flashing custom ROMs, but that is really not done by most casual uses. It just seems like a majority flashes because these are precisely the type who fill the forums....

Windows Phone, IMHO, offers more official support than other major OS choices. How much? It remains to be seen where the real end is. Microsoft wants to bring as many WP 8 and 8.1 devices forward to 10 as they are able to. Carriers love to block updates so you will want a new phone so you can see where a variable enters into the equation.

 

[tgp]

iPhone phases out their hardware over time and only likes the current and last model to be supported fully.

Windows Phone, IMHO, offers more official support than other major OS choices.

Your post was very good except for these 2 lines. Nothing could be further from the truth! Apple does phase out their hardware over time, but it is a long time. Their devices receive the next 3 annual OS updates after the original version they ship with. For example, the iPhone 5 was released in 2012 with iOS 6, and it will likely receive iOS 9 this year. This means that it will be fully supported until iOS 10 is released in 2016. The 4S was released in 2011, and it received iOS 8 in 2014, giving it full support until the new version this coming fall.

Where do you get the idea that WP offers the most official support? You said yourself, and correctly so, that updates for WP are up to the carriers, and we can add manufacturers to that. WP update support has been less than stellar by the carriers. It's better than Android's, but nothing to write home about. The iPhone has no such restriction. The updates all drop at the same time, pretty much at the same moment, regardless of hardware version or carrier.

 

[PepperdotNet]

Apple does phase out their hardware over time, but it is a long time. Their devices receive the next 3 annual OS updates after the original version they ship with. For example, the iPhone 5 was released in 2012 with iOS 6, and it will likely receive iOS 9 this year. This means that it will be fully supported until iOS 10 is released in 2016. The 4S was released in 2011, and it received iOS 8 in 2014, giving it full support until the new version this coming fall.

Some would argue that the last version released for each iOS device, and in some cases one or two versions before that, make the device painfully slow to use, thus prompting the user to buy a newer device.

Any device that ever shipped with any version of Windows Phone 8.x can get Windows 10. If the carrier won't release it, join the Preview for Developers to get it up to 8.1 if necessary. Then join Windows Insider to get it to Windows 10. This includes that infamous Lumia 810 for T-Mobile.

 

[xandros9]

Some would argue that the last version released for each iOS device, and in some cases one or two versions before that, make the device painfully slow to use, thus prompting the user to buy a newer device.

Any device that ever shipped with any version of Windows Phone 8.x can get Windows 10. If the carrier won't release it, join the Preview for Developers to get it up to 8.1 if necessary. Then join Windows Insider to get it to Windows 10. This includes that infamous Lumia 810 for T-Mobile.

Interestingly enough, someone apparently did some research and saw a significant spike in iPhone slow and related web searches shortly before a new model dropped.

I don't remember the specifics though.