I think that’s a pretty good run.
All the Android users I know have been through at least 3 or 4 phones in that period. And so have some of the iPhone users who obsessively upgrade every 2 years even though they don’t need to!
(Typing this on an iPhone X from 2017…)
Nor a car with a flat tire.
Nor a road when a pothole appears.
The point I’m making is that when the devices are made there are future issue that are both known and reasonable (battery will wear out, network-based security vulnerabilities will be uncovered, etc), but we all recognize that those can be solved (user-replaceable battery, the ability to selectively block network access, etc).
What’s particularly frustrating are the “unreasonable problems”. For example: running photo recognition in the background on a device that does not have the resources to do it without affecting the user. Or gatekeeping old (perfectly functional) applications. Or any of the other cases that are outlined in these threads. In those cases it’s companies intentionally choosing to restrict our ability to use “their” devices and typically because there’s more profit in pushing “their users” to update.
If I'd used that hammer every day for many years and it had finally given out? If re-attaching the head wasn't going to give as good result as buying a new hammer? Sure I would.
> "For example: running photo recognition in the background on a device that does not have the resources to do it without affecting the user"
Yeah. Apple shouldn't have enabled that by default on older devices, but it can be turned off (Settings -> Siri & Search -> Photos).
The way hammers have been made in the past, you could almost trivially make a new wooden handle and attach the head to it bringing it to just as good as new or even better (if you sourced stronger wood).
(Typing this on a macbook pro 2012)
How is this any different to the phone in question?