Are lifetime free updates real, or is there a catch?

Brands like XTOOL, BLCKTEC, Kingbolen, and Innova advertise lifetime updates, and verified-purchase reviewers generally confirm updates do arrive. The catch flagged across community threads is that 'lifetime' usually means the lifetime of that product line — when the brand moves on, updates slow. Autel famously charges for updates after year one, which mechanic-subreddit threads call out as the main downside of the MK808S.