How long after release does Apple still provide "security updates"?

From	Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com>
Newsgroups	misc.phone.mobile.iphone, comp.sys.mac.system, comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject	How long after release does Apple still provide "security updates"?
Date	2026-03-27 15:13 -0400
Organization	BWH Usenet Archive (https://usenet.blueworldhosting.com)
Message-ID	<10q6krt$jv7$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com> (permalink)

Cross-posted to 3 groups.

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Q: How long after release does Apple still provide "security updates"?
A: It's a *lot* shorter than you think... 

Note that people "think" Apple supports releases far longer than facts show
since these dates are the *longest* possible support lengths we can get.

For example, for Microsoft Windows XP... 
1. Windows XP was released on October 25, 2001
2. The last known security update was released on May 14, 2019
3. That is 6,421 days, or 17.59 years of security updates after release
The point is a "security update" is not a "full update" by any definition.

To be clear, I'm all about the truth. The factual truth. Not marketing BS.
Hence, this thread is about security updates. It's not about full updates.

I may be wrong as this is a first pass at gathering the data, so please
take a look at this data I've compiled and let us all know what you think.

[Note I'm fitting everything to a single line so words change a bit.]

1. iPhone OS 1 was released on June 29, 2007
2. The last known security update was iPhone OS 1.1.5 on July 15, 2008
3. That is 382 days, or 1.05 years of security updates after release

1. iPhone OS 2 was released on July 11, 2008
2. The last known security update was iPhone OS 2.2.1 on January 27, 2009
3. That is 200 days, or 0.55 years of security updates after release

1. iPhone OS 3 was released on June 17, 2009
2. The last known security update was iPhone OS 3.2.2 on August 11, 2010
3. That is 420 days, or 1.15 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 4 was released on June 21, 2010
2. The last known security update was iOS 4.3.5 released on July 25, 2011
3. That is 399 days, or 1.09 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 5 was released on October 12, 2011
2. The last known security update was iOS 5.1.1 released on May 7, 2012
3. That is 208 days, or 0.57 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 6 was released on September 19, 2012
2. The last known security update was iOS 6.1.6 on February 21, 2014
3. That is 520 days, or 1.42 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 7 was released on September 18, 2013
2. The last known security update was iOS 7.1.2 released on June 30, 2014
3. That is 285 days, or 0.78 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 8 was released on September 17, 2014
2. The last known security update was iOS 8.4.1 released on August 13, 2015
3. That is 330 days, or 0.90 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 9 was released on September 16, 2015
2. The last known security update was iOS 9.3.6 released on July 22, 2019
3. That is 1,406 days, or 3.85 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 10 was released on September 13, 2016
2. The last known security update was iOS 10.3.4 released on July 22, 2019
3. That is 1,042 days, or 2.85 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 11 was released on September 19, 2017
2. The last known security update was iOS 11.4.1 released on July 9, 2018
3. That is 293 days, or 0.80 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 12 was released on September 17, 2018
2. The last known security update was iOS 12.5.7 on January 23, 2023
3. That is 1,589 days, or 4.35 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 13 was released on September 19, 2019
2. The last known security update was iOS 13.7 on September 1, 2020
3. That is 348 days, or 0.95 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 14 was released on September 16, 2020
2. The last known security update was iOS 14.8.1 on October 26, 2021
3. That is 405 days, or 1.11 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 15 was released on September 20, 2021
2. The last known security update was iOS 15.8.2 on January 22, 2024
3. That is 854 days, or 2.34 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 16 was released on September 12, 2022
2. The last known security update was iOS 16.7.10 on January 22, 2024
3. That is 497 days, or 1.36 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 17 was released on September 18, 2023
2. The last known security update was iOS 17.4.1 on March 21, 2024
3. That is 185 days, or 0.51 years of security updates after release

1. iOS 18 was released on September 16, 2024
2. The last known security update was iOS 18.3 on February 12, 2025
3. That is 149 days, or 0.41 years of security updates after release

For macOS, as far as I can tell, here's the data (please doublecheck).

1. Mac OS X 10.0 (Cheetah) was released on March 24, 2001
2. The last security update was Security Update 2002-07-12 on July 12, 2002
3. That is 475 days, or 1.30 years of security updates after release

1. Mac OS X 10.1 (Puma) was released on September 25, 2001
2. The last security update was Security Update 2003-06-09 on June 9, 2003
3. That is 622 days, or 1.70 years of security updates after release

1. Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) was released on August 23, 2002
2. The last security update was Security Update 2004-05-24 on May 24, 2004
3. That is 640 days, or 1.75 years of security updates after release

1. Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) was released on October 24, 2003
2. The last security update was Security Update 2007-004 on April 19, 2007
3. That is 1,273 days, or 3.49 years of security updates after release

1. Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) was released on April 29, 2005
2. The last security update was Security Update 2009-005 on Sept 10, 2009
3. That is 1,596 days, or 4.37 years of security updates after release

1. Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) was released on October 26, 2007
2. The last security update was Security Update 2011-006 on Nov 9, 2011
3. That is 1,475 days, or 4.04 years of security updates after release

1. Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) was released on August 28, 2009
2. The last security update was Security Update 2013-004 on Sept 12, 2013
3. That is 1,477 days, or 4.04 years of security updates after release

1. OS X 10.7 (Lion) was released on July 20, 2011
2. The last security update was Security Update 2014-004 on Aug 13, 2014
3. That is 1,120 days, or 3.07 years of security updates after release

1. OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) was released on July 25, 2012
2. The last security update was Security Update 2015-006 on August 13, 2015
3. That is 1,114 days, or 3.05 years of security updates after release

1. OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) was released on October 22, 2013
2. The last security update was Security Update 2016-003 on July 18, 2016
3. That is 1,000 days, or 2.74 years of security updates after release

1. OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) was released on October 16, 2014
2. The last security update was Security Update 2017-005 on July 19, 2017
3. That is 1,007 days, or 2.76 years of security updates after release

1. OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) was released on September 30, 2015
2. The last security update was Security Update 2018-003 on July 9, 2018
3. That is 1,013 days, or 2.77 years of security updates after release

1. macOS 10.12 (Sierra) was released on September 20, 2016
2. The last security update was Security Update 2019-004 on July 22, 2019
3. That is 1,035 days, or 2.83 years of security updates after release

1. macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) was released on September 25, 2017
2. The last security update was Security Update 2020-006 on Sept 24, 2020
3. That is 1,095 days, or 3.00 years of security updates after release

1. macOS 10.14 (Mojave) was released on September 24, 2018
2. The last security update was Security Update 2021-005 on July 21, 2021
3. That is 1,031 days, or 2.82 years of security updates after release

1. macOS 10.15 (Catalina) was released on October 7, 2019
2. The last security update was Security Update 2022-005 on July 20, 2022
3. That is 1,017 days, or 2.79 years of security updates after release

1. macOS 11 (Big Sur) was released on November 12, 2020
2. The last security update was Security Update 2023-005 on Sept 11, 2023
3. That is 1,034 days, or 2.83 years of security updates after release

1. macOS 12 (Monterey) was released on October 25, 2021
2. The last security update was Security Update 2024-002 on Jan 22, 2024
3. That is 820 days, or 2.25 years of security updates after release

1. macOS 13 (Ventura) was released on October 24, 2022
2. The last security update was macOS Ventura 13.6.6 on March 25, 2024
3. That is 518 days, or 1.42 years of security updates after release

1. macOS 14 (Sonoma) was released on September 26, 2023
2. The last security update was macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 on March 21, 2024
3. That is 177 days, or 0.49 years of security updates after release

If those numbers are correct, then we can make an educated assessment:

LONGEST:
A. The longest iOS support (but that's not FULL support) = 4.35 years
B. The longest macOS support (but not FULL support) = 4.37 years

SHORTEST:
A. The shortest iOS support (but that's not FULL support) = 0.55 years
B. The shortest macOS support (but not FULL support) = 1.30 years

AVERAGE:
A. The average iOS support (but that's not FULL support) 
    Sum = 25.52 years  (for completed versions)
    Count = 16 versions (have completed)
    Average = 26.14 / 18 = 1.59 years
B. The average macOS support (but that's not FULL support)
    Sum = 53.17 years  
    Count = 19  
    Average = 2.80 years

Note that this FACT is likely far shorter than most people think it is.

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Thread

How long after release does Apple still provide "security updates"? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-03-27 15:13 -0400
  Having lost on his last thread... (was Re: How long after release does Apple still provide "security updates"? Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> - 2026-03-27 12:25 -0700
  Re: How long after release does Apple still provide "security updates"? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-04-12 22:44 -0700
    Re: How long after release does Apple still provide "security updates"? Brock McNuggets <brock.mcnuggets@gmail.com> - 2026-04-13 16:39 +0000
    Re: How long after release does Apple still provide "security updates"? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-04-25 08:31 -0600
      Re: How long after release does Apple still provide "security updates"? Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> - 2026-04-25 09:11 -0700
  Re: How long after release does Apple still provide "security updates"? Johnny LaRue <xxxxxx@yyyyyy.zzz> - 2026-05-05 22:22 -0400
    Re: How long after release does Apple still provide "security updates"? CrudeSausage <crude@sausa.ge> - 2026-05-06 10:02 -0400
    Re: How long after release does Apple still provide "security updates"? Jolly Roger <jollyroger@pobox.com> - 2026-05-06 20:46 +0000

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