How much longer will Apple support the iPhone SE?

Please stick to the question ("you should buy and Android" is not an answer.)

The iPhones have a feature not available on Android that I need, and I need to run an app on a more mobile device than my tablet (Surface 3 with Windows 10). I only NEED just ONE app, but won't consider buying a phone if it doesn't have this certain Apple feature.

Other than that I really am not a smartphone fan. But my tablet is a bit too big. In fact I prefer a small basic phone, which is why I'm considering the smaller and cheaper SE. So the smaller the phone the better. I hate big phones and am also hard on phones meaning I'll need a good case, which also increases the size of the phone.

But how long is the SE going to be supported? It seems to have been on the shelves for quite some time. I'm very frugal and do not want to spend $399 on a phone that won't do it's job in a couple years. (Actually I'd rather just keep my flip phone.) If the SE is going to be dropped soon, is there another small Apple phone on the horizon? If not I might opt for a 6 or a 7. I want to pay the least amount for the longest running iPhone possible, and preferably the smallest one too.

I say this knowing that a lot of older mobile Apple devices will not update nor run the app I need. The phone has to be up-to-date.

Can you help me?

Thanks!

Added (1). The app in question has a database that must be periodically updated. It seems the iPhone s and s do not have the ability to download or update this app. Hence the concern.

This phone was released just a year and half ago so it is still has at least a few years (if not quite a bit more) of getting updates. I believe the SE chipset (which drives which phones can get updates) is the same as the 6s.

That being said, if the phone you buy today does the job, than if you don't need to update the phone software or the app, it should work forever. There are places that still run computers from a couple decades ago because they are running a specific software that works on that device. Since you only need 1 app, there's no reason that you can't run it forever on a device that currently runs it (as long as nothing gets updated that would/could cause issues)

Apple supports devices 5 years after discontinuation. App developers are under no requirement.

You didn't bother to indicate what the feature is that is a requirement.

Ask Apple.

The SE is basically a 6s in a 5s body. The iPhone 5 & 5c would stop getting updates this year with iOS 11. Assuming Apple keeps its path going the 6 & 6 Plus would be doing the same in 2018 with iOS 12, so the 6s, 6s Plus & SE would stop in 2019 before iOS 13.

As far as the phone itself, Apple would support it years after that. If I remember correctly, currently only the iPhone & iPhone 3G are no longer supported by Apple.

You can ask apple.