How many years of software updates does your next phone need?

A phone can have a great camera and a big battery and still be a poor buy if it stops getting updates a year after you buy it. Here is how to tell how much software support you need, and how to check what a phone really offers.

Two kinds of updates

Phones get two kinds of updates. Android or iOS upgrades bring new features, such as a new version of Android each year. Security patches are smaller and fix holes that scammers and harmful apps use. Upgrades are nice to have. Security patches are the ones that keep your banking and UPI apps safe.

When security patches stop, the phone still works, but it gets a little less safe for payments every month. Some banking apps also stop working on very old Android versions.

Match the support to how long you keep a phone

Start with how long you plan to keep the phone, then add a year. Many people keep a phone for three or four years and then hand it to a parent or sell it. A phone that still gets security patches is easier to pass on and sells for more, which you can check with our phone resale value calculator.

• Keep phones about 2 years: almost any recent phone works, but check for at least 3 years of security patches from launch.
• Keep phones 3 to 4 years: look for at least 4 years of security patches from launch.
• Keep phones 5 years or pass them on: look for 6 years or more. Samsung, Google and Apple lead here.

Count from the launch date, not the day you buy

Every promise starts on the day the phone launched. A phone with 4 years of updates that launched 18 months ago has about two and a half years left. Each Tuvvo phone page shows the month its upgrades and patches are expected to end, worked out from the launch date. To see them all in one place, open which phones get the latest Android and iOS updates.

Where to find the longest support

Our guide to phones with the longest software support ranks them, and there is a version for long support under Rs 50,000. On a tight budget, check the update promise in the best phones under Rs 20,000 before you look at the camera.

Check the promise on the brand's own page. If a seller says lifetime updates, ask for the number of years. Our phone buying checklist lists what else to check before you pay.

Still not sure which phone fits? Take the 60-second phone quiz, or read how Tuvvo scores and ranks phones, where software support counts towards the overall rating.