Your iPhone 15 still runs the newest iOS. Apple’s iOS 27 page lists the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max as compatible, and the list goes all the way back to the iPhone 11 from 2019. So the real question isn’t about today’s support. It’s how many more years you get, and Apple’s own update history gives you a good answer.
Based on that history, expect your iPhone 15 to stay on the current iOS until about 2029 or 2030, and security fixes until roughly 2031 to 2033. That’s our estimate from Apple’s past pattern, not an Apple promise. Here’s how we got there.
Apple’s own release notes show iPhones get six to seven years of major iOS updates
Apple’s security releases page and its 2022 to 2023 archive list which iPhones each major iOS version supports. Put those next to the launch years on Apple’s iPhone model guide and you get a clear pattern:
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| iPhone | Launched | Dropped by | Years of major updates |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 6s | 2015 | iOS 16, September 2022 | 7 |
| iPhone 7 | 2016 | iOS 16, September 2022 | 6 |
| iPhone 8 and X | 2017 | iOS 17, September 2023 | 6 |
| iPhone XS and XR | 2018 | iOS 26, September 2025 | 7 |
| iPhone 11 | 2019 | Still on iOS 27 | 7 and counting |
Apple released iOS 16 on September 12, 2022 for the iPhone 8 and later, which cut off the 6s and 7. iOS 17 arrived on September 18, 2023 for the iPhone XS and later, which cut off the 8 and X. iOS 18 still covered the XS in September 2024, then iOS 26 on September 15, 2025 started at the iPhone 11. The trend is moving in your favor. The iPhone 11 is already past seven years and still on the current release.
Apple released the iPhone 15 on September 22, 2023. Six to seven years from there puts your last major update in fall 2028 or fall 2029, and your first missed version in fall 2029 or fall 2030. If the iPhone 11’s run is the new normal, you could get one more year.
Apple’s UK filing guarantees security updates until at least September 2028
You don’t have to rely only on history. Apple’s UK product security statement for the iPhone 15 Pro Max lists a first supply date of September 22, 2023 and a defined support period of a minimum of five years from that date. The UK requires Apple to publish that figure. It covers security updates, not new iOS versions, and it’s a floor. Apple’s history says the real number is much higher.
Look at what Apple still patches. On November 9, 2026, Apple shipped iOS 18.7.12 for the iPhone XS and XR, more than a year after iOS 26 dropped them. In May 2026 it shipped iOS 16.7.16 for the iPhone 8 and X and iOS 15.8.8 for the iPhone 6s and 7. That’s a phone from 2015 still getting fixes more than ten years later. Apple’s pattern is two to three years or more of security updates after a phone loses major versions, which is where our 2031 to 2033 range comes from.
The iPhone 15 already misses Apple Intelligence, so features run out before support does
There’s a catch for owners of the standard model. Apple’s Apple Intelligence support page lists the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, but not the iPhone 15 or 15 Plus. The base models use the A16 Bionic, and that means no Siri AI and no Apple Intelligence features on iOS 27, even though the phone runs iOS 27. Features like Live Translation on phone calls also need an iPhone 15 Pro.
So if you own an iPhone 15 or 15 Plus, you’re already on a reduced feature set. Each new iOS release is likely to add more features your phone can’t use, well before Apple stops updating it. The 15 Pro models get Apple Intelligence now, but Apple’s iOS page reserves Siri voice customization for the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone Air and newer, so even the Pro is behind the newest phones.
Repairs and batteries should outlast software support under Apple’s vintage policy
Apple stopped selling the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus on September 9, 2025, when the iPhone 17 arrived. Apple’s vintage and obsolete policy calls a product vintage more than five years after Apple stopped selling it, and obsolete after seven. For iPhone, Apple says it offers service and parts for at least five years after it last sold the model, and up to seven years if parts allow. That points to Apple repairs until at least fall 2030, possibly into 2032. No iPhone 15 model is on the vintage list yet.
We ran the same numbers for Macs in our look at how long your M1 Mac really lasts before Apple drops support.
The battery is the part most likely to send you shopping first. Apple’s battery page says iPhone 15 batteries are designed to keep 80 percent of their original capacity at 1,000 complete charge cycles under ideal conditions, double the 500 cycles Apple rates the iPhone 14 and earlier for. A battery swap at that point is cheaper than a new phone. If you want a longer view of how this series works, see our iPhone 13 support guide.
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