For the past few years, Android brands have been racing to announce longer software update policies. Seven years became the magic number, with Google leading the charge with its Pixel 8 lineup. Then, Samsung came into the picture with its Galaxy S26 series. On paper, it sounded fantastic.
But, in reality, software support isn't just about how many updates a phone receives. It's about what those updates actually do for users. A phone receiving updates for seven years sounds impressive, but if those updates make the device slower, add features it can't properly run or simply exist to fulfil a promise on a marketing slide, is the user really winning?
That's exactly where Apple seems to be setting a different example with the newly announced iOS 27 update.
Apple Isn't Just Supporting the iPhone 11, It's Improving It
Instead of treating older devices as an afterthought, Apple is bringing performance improvements to iPhones as old as the iPhone 11. According to the Cupertino giant, iOS 27 includes an upgraded CPU scheduler and a slew of system-level optimisations, which are designed to make older Apple iPhones feel faster and more responsive.
To be specific, Apple is promising up to 30% faster app launches, 70% faster loading of new captures in Photos and 80% faster AirDrop transfers with iOS 27.
We've seen plenty of Android phones receive major updates only to feel increasingly sluggish as they age. Even Google's Pixel lineup hasn't been immune to performance complaints over time, particularly on devices powered by its earlier Tensor chipsets.
Moreover, the iPhone 11 launched way back in 2019, the same year when the Google Pixel 4 and Samsung Galaxy S10 landed. While the Pixel 4 ran on Android 10 out of the box and got updated to Android 13, the Galaxy S10 phones ran on Android 9 and only received updates to Android 12. That's a total of just three years of updates, versus Apple's incredible seventh year of updates for the iPhone 11 series.
iOS 27 Gives Older iPhones Something More Valuable than AI
Of course, Apple isn't perfect, and many of the newly announced iOS 27 update's biggest new capabilities, such as the new Siri AI, remain exclusive to newer Apple Intelligence-supported iPhones. Some users will undoubtedly argue that seven years should bring feature parity as well, and that's a fair criticism.
But, for someone still using an iPhone 11 in 2026, the smartphone being a part of the iOS 27 eligible devices list in itself is a huge thing. Not to mention that a performance boost is arguably far more valuable than getting flashy AI features to only slow the phone down.
Apple Is Setting the Standard for Long-Term Phone Support
With iOS 27, Apple sends out an important message to the rest of the industry. Long-term software support should not be treated as a checkbox or a marketing statistic. The goal shouldn't simply be to keep a device eligible for updates but to keep it fairly enjoyable to use even after all those years.
And with the iPhone 11 receiving meaningful performance-focused improvements seven years after launch, Apple is showing what that software commitment actually looks like.
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