Best secondhand iPhone that won't lose updates 4 a few years

[JQ]

My 84 year old dad's iPhone has stopped supporting WhatsApp - it's very very old. It's the main way the family and his friends communicate with him as he's not on social media, so we send him photos and his grandkids send him messages. He has no other use for the iPhone other than calls as he uses an iPad for reading Motorsport Magazine and getting his daily rants from the Daily Mail.

We therefore want to get him a refurbished phone that won't suddenly stop supporting WhatsApp in a few years. What's the oldest model that would be ok? We can get an iPhone 12 for £200 which seems pretty reasonable or should we go a bit newer?

Thank you

[Gin and Ultrasonic]

I got a refurbished Iphone 12 for my 81 year old dad recently and it's a great phone at this price (I still have an Iphone 12 pro myself).

Estimated end of support dates from macworld shows you should get a few years yet.

iPhone XS (2018-2019) – Approx 2024-2026
iPhone XR (2018-2021) – Approx 2026-2028
iPhone 11 (2019-2022) – Approx 2027-2029
iPhone SE2 (2020-2022) – Approx 2027-2029
iPhone 12 (2020-2023) – Approx 2028-2030
iPhone 13 (2021) – Approx 2032
iPhone SE3 (2022) – Approx 2033
iPhone 14 (2022) – Approx 2034
iPhone 15 (2023) – Approx 2035
iPhone 16 (2024) – Approx 2036

[JQ]

Brilliant, thank you for the great response, exactly what I needed.

[Ham_and_Jam]

JQ said:

Brilliant, thank you for the great response, exactly what I needed.

I would say the optimum performance v cost would be the 13Pro.

I’ve just upgraded from the 13Pro to the latest 16Pro and besides the camera and AI stuff there’s not a great deal of difference.

[GCH]

The iPhone SE3 (2022-2025) has just been discontinued last week. You can fin them on clearance or get a decently priced refurbished one (including via amazon) for not a lot, probably around the same or less than the 12 you were looking at.
That will be supported for a couple of years yet as it has the internals of a 13. It's a decent phone - it is the one I use most of the time, and doesn't have the bells and whistles of something pro whatever. Also still has touch ID.

[megaphone]

I'd go with one that has face ID, just makes it much easier to use. My 13 mini has it.

[MitchT]

Gin and Ultrasonic said:

Estimated end of support dates from macworld shows you should get a few years yet.

iPhone XS (2018-2019) – Approx 2024-2026
iPhone XR (2018-2021) – Approx 2026-2028
iPhone 11 (2019-2022) – Approx 2027-2029
iPhone SE2 (2020-2022) – Approx 2027-2029
iPhone 12 (2020-2023) – Approx 2028-2030
iPhone 13 (2021) – Approx 2032
iPhone SE3 (2022) – Approx 2033
iPhone 14 (2022) – Approx 2034
iPhone 15 (2023) – Approx 2035
iPhone 16 (2024) – Approx 2036

I need to replace my 8 and was concerned about getting an SE3 in case support ends imminently, but that looks like it could be kept up-to-date for some considerable time. That said, a new 128GB SE3 is £449 on Amazon, which seems a little steep for a model that's now discontinued.