Is the Apple iPhone 16 still supported?
End-of-support date: September 2031.
Time until support ends
Our estimateSeptember 2031
Source: Apple's documentation · verified 2026-06-10
What happens when support ends
- 🔓 Security risk grows monthly. New vulnerabilities are discovered constantly; on an unsupported phone they are never fixed. Banking, payments, email, and password apps become progressively riskier.
- 📱 Apps drop off. Developers raise their minimum OS requirements over time — first you lose updates to apps, then the apps themselves.
- 💸 Resale value falls fast.The market prices support: once a phone leaves a manufacturer's update list, its used value drops sharply and keeps falling.
More questions about the iPhone 16
Is the iPhone 16 still getting updates in 2026?
Yes. The iPhone 16 launched in September 2024 and runs the latest iOS. Based on Apple's consistent track record of roughly seven years of updates, we estimate support until around September 2031 — Apple's written legal guarantee is a minimum of five years (September 2029).
How many years will the iPhone 16 last?
Bought in mid-2026, you can reasonably expect about five more years of software support on Apple's historical pattern. The A18 chip has plenty of headroom; plan for a battery replacement around year three or four.
Should I buy the iPhone 16 or iPhone 17?
The 17 adds a 120Hz ProMotion display, a bigger battery, and one extra year of support for $100 more. If you keep phones a long time, the 17 is the better cost-per-month buy; if you upgrade every 2–3 years, the 16 at $699 is excellent value.
Safer alternatives
All three carry a GREEN Safe-to-Buy badge today.
Data sources & last verified: this phone's support window comes from documented update history (estimate — see our methodology), last verified 2026-06-10. How we compute end dates.