Choosing between Android or iPhone is usually argued over cameras and chip names, which is the part that changes every autumn and matters least a year later. The decisions that still bite in year three are duller: how long the phone keeps getting security patches, whether parts and a battery will exist when you need them, and how much of your money and data is already tied to one side. All three are now published figures you can read before you buy, and in Europe some of them are printed on the box.
Updated October 2026. Specifications and support windows are quoted from the manufacturers and regulators listed in Sources, and change by model and region. Check your exact model before buying.
Android or iPhone: what the update promises actually say
Support length is the one specification that decides when a working phone becomes a liability, and the two platforms now state it differently. Google’s support page commits Pixel 8 and later to seven years of Android version updates and security updates, counted from when the device first became available on the Google Store in the United States. Pixel 6, Pixel 7 and Pixel Fold get five years on the same basis, and Pixel 5a and earlier no longer receive version or security updates at all. Samsung states the same seven year figure for the Galaxy S25 series, describing seven generations of operating system upgrades and seven years of security updates from the global launch date.
Apple publishes no equivalent promise in years. What it publishes is the compatibility list, and that list is the evidence. iOS 27 runs on iPhone 11 and later, plus iPhone SE second generation and later, which means hardware first sold in 2019 is still taking the current release. The practical reading is that both platforms now sit in roughly the same band, so the question is no longer which brand lasts longer in general but which specific model you are being offered and how old it already is.
The EU label does some of the comparing for you
Since 20 June 2025, phones and tablets placed on the EU market have had to meet ecodesign requirements and carry an energy label. The European Commission’s product page sets out what those requirements are: batteries that manage at least 800 charge and discharge cycles while retaining at least 80 per cent of their initial capacity, operating system updates made available for at least five years from the end of placement on the market of the last unit of that model, and spare parts for professional repairers for seven years after sales end, supplied within five to ten working days.
The label itself carries seven pieces of information, including a repairability class from A to E, a repeated free fall reliability class, the number of battery cycles until 80 per cent capacity remains, battery endurance per charge, and the ingress protection rating for dust and water. None of that tells you which platform you will enjoy more. All of it lets you compare two candidates on the same axis without trusting a launch presentation.
Lock-in is a real cost, and it runs both ways
The reason switching feels expensive is that the cost is spread across things you bought separately: app purchases and subscriptions bound to one store account, a watch or earbuds that pair properly with one side, backups in a format the other platform imports imperfectly, and group chats where your messages change colour. Regulation has chipped at some of this. The Digital Markets Act, applicable since 2 May 2023, requires designated gatekeepers to let users uninstall pre-installed apps, to let third parties interoperate with their services in specified situations, to stop ranking their own products more favourably than comparable third party ones, and to let business users link customers to offers outside the platform.
That has made the walls lower in the EU rather than absent, and it has done nothing about the accessories in your drawer. Price the switch honestly, including what you would replace, before you treat a camera difference as decisive. If you do move, our guide to transferring from Android to iPhone covers the data side, and it is worth reading before you sell your phone so the old handset leaves clean.
6 simple checks before you switch
- Find the model, not the brand. Look up the exact handset and its support window. A current Pixel and a two year old budget Android phone are not the same purchase.
- Count the remaining years, not the total. Seven years from launch is four years if the phone launched three years ago.
- Read the EU label if you are buying in Europe. The repairability class, drop class, IP rating and battery cycle figure are printed and comparable.
- Check the parts position. Ecodesign rules require spare parts for seven years after sales end for phones placed on the EU market, which is the difference between a repair and a replacement.
- Total the lock-in. List paid apps, subscriptions, accessories and anything that pairs with only one platform, and put a number on it.
- Match the phone to how you actually use one. File handling, default app freedom and hardware variety sit on the Android side; a single long-lived update stream and tight accessory pairing sit on the Apple side.
Where the two genuinely differ
- Hardware range. Android spans many manufacturers, prices, screen sizes and form factors. Apple ships a short list.
- Update delivery. Apple ships one release to every supported model at once. On Android the manufacturer sits between you and Google, which is why the published per-model commitment matters more than the Android version number.
- Battery specifications. Apple publishes cycle ratings directly: iPhone 14 and earlier are designed to retain 80 per cent of original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles, and iPhone 15 models at 1000 cycles. Treat any phone sold in the EU as holding to at least 800 cycles at 80 per cent.
- Openness. Sideloading, alternative stores and deeper defaults are easier on Android, and in the EU the Digital Markets Act has opened some of this on iOS too.
- Resale and hand-me-down life. A long support window is what makes a phone worth passing on rather than recycling.
If the honest answer is that your current phone still gets patches and holds a charge, the better decision may be to keep it. Our guide on when to upgrade your phone sets out the signs worth acting on, and extending battery life buys time cheaply.
Common questions
Which lasts longer for updates, Android or iPhone? Both sit in a similar band now. Google commits Pixel 8 and later to seven years of OS and security updates, Samsung states seven years for the Galaxy S25 series, and iOS 27 still supports iPhone 11 and later. The number that matters is the years remaining on the specific model in front of you.
What does the EU phone energy label tell me? Seven things, including a repairability class from A to E, a repeated free fall reliability class, battery endurance per charge, the cycles until 80 per cent capacity remains, and the IP rating for dust and water resistance.
How many charge cycles should a phone battery survive? EU ecodesign rules require at least 800 cycles while retaining at least 80 per cent of initial capacity. Apple states 500 cycles to 80 per cent for iPhone 14 and earlier and 1000 cycles for iPhone 15 models.
Is switching platforms still difficult? Less than it was, and not free. The Digital Markets Act requires gatekeepers to allow uninstalling pre-installed apps and certain interoperability, but app purchases, subscriptions and accessories tied to one platform are still a real cost.
Does a better camera justify changing platform? Rarely on its own. Camera output differs mainly in processing choices, while support length, parts availability and lock-in costs are the things you cannot change after purchase.
Sources and further reading
Where the figures and rules above come from, so you can check them:
- How long Pixel phones receive OS and security updates, by model: Google Pixel Help
- Seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates: Samsung Newsroom
- iPhone models supported by the current iOS release: Apple
- Ecodesign and energy label requirements for smartphones and tablets from 20 June 2025: European Commission
- Gatekeeper obligations and the date of application: European Commission, Digital Markets Act
- iPhone battery cycle ratings and capacity retention: Apple
Photo credit: Mobile Phones 3 (202411131244) by 茅野ふたば, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Join the discussion