Apple issues security update for the almost 10-year-old iPhone 5S

gambiting

My iPad mini 2 is also getting regular security updates, and that was launched 10 years ago . The problem isn't the OS, it's all the apps - even though it is compatible with, and runs Netflix and Disney Plus, both apps crash after about 15 minutes of use, which defeats the point of this iPad for me(cartoons playback device for my kid). It's a shame.

metadat

Can these still be connected to the AT&T or Verizon networks? When I tried attaching one in 2020 they immediately disabled my sim card (irreversibly) and when I called support told me it was much too old and I must get a newer phone (thanks a lot, ATT).

To be fair, this is often the claimed solution with AT&T and at least sometimes I'm certain it's BS (e.g. for a Samsung S10e, Verizon told my elderly friend the same thing last year). Hence my question.

taylodl

From a reduce, reuse, recycle standpoint - iPhones just make sense.

imwillofficial

Great to see commitment to older devices. I hope this becomes the norm in this space.

dghughes

Ha! I just retired my Mom's 5S and got her an S22 for Christmas. And a pre-paid plan too the phone company was consonantly sending texts suggesting she change to monthly.

That thing was a tank it was OK until about a year ago then the battery got noticeably worse. Not bad for someone who always let it die all the time always charge only when 0%. She almost always used it just for voice calls a few texts no web (no data plan).

No OS updates for a while too. So it was risky I thought to keep it going. Android is much easier to deal with. Although the ringtones and notifications are all different she has to now learn after almost 10 years of iPhone to new sounds by Samsung.

olliej

They length of time an update is supported isn’t the time from first release, it’s the time from last sale.

If a phone is sold for two years, and I buy that phone at the end up the two years, then “two years of updates” means a day one purchaser will get four years of updates.

So while it’s nice that we can say “almost ten years old”, the reality is probably not more than seven years.

It’s why when you look at android manufacturers making update promises you need to make sure that they’re being honest, and similarly any legislation needs to specifically say that the mandatory update support period starts after the last sale of the device.

fortran77

How does Apple's security model allow for any malformed web page to execute arbitrary code?

geodel

I think one main reason 5s get supported because it had first 64-bit chip on iPhone.

gjsman-1000

If the security bug is bad enough... vendors do, sometimes, give into providing an update for an obsolete platform.

See also Microsoft, which patched the security bug used by WannaCry over 4 years after Windows XP end of life.

antomeie

I still use my iPhone 5S as a webcam for my Mac Mini, and occasionally as an alarm clock / timer.

kasabali

> It closes a nasty-sounding security loophole in which “processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution.”

only if they're was a way to update the web engine from app store.

tempodox

Installed. I had to get my phone out of the attic but it's worth it. And Xcode-14.2 still installs my apps on the 5S.

rubicon33

5s still the best

steponlego

[flagged]

prvc

So good of them to protect the users from being able to jailbreak their own devices easily.