Revisions and updates : limited shelf life of an Android phone

[fergusd84]

I am entirely new to Android.
If I have understood things correctly, even a brand new ZenFone 8 will only be allowed / permitted / capable of achieving (a) updates to the Android OS and (b) security updates for some linited period - what, maybe 2Y or suchlike? Thereafter it will be stuck at that status, regardless of any future developments and protections. The phone will continue to work, probably indefinitely with respect to the OS, but becoming more and more vulnerable as regards security.
Is this really the case? Surely I have got this wrong? And is it a policy imposed by Google or Asus or .. .. ? Even Microsoft offer updates for a decade or more before shutting down support on its various OSs; a car manufacturer woiuld not get away with halting safety notifications and taking any necessary actions.
I am just stunned (but also at my own ignorance). The phone cost approx 800 Euros. I would have anticipated much greater longevity than is implied by the above. What happened when billions of users world-wide presumably objected? (Or not? Is the lure of a brand new phone every two years just too intoxicating?)
Is there any way round this? Even by securing some kind of an extension at some cost?

[landsome]

erik.paladin

https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/comment/221566#Comment_221566

I agree with your comments, but you said it yourself: "usable for basic tasks". Why is a phone that was lightning fast at release and could be used for more than "basic tasks" today only suitable for those?

Why does my Huawei P10 take 20+ minutes to update 5-10 apps through the play store? It didn't take that long when I got it.

Maybe I could install a custom ROM on it, but Huawei killed the program that gave you a bootloader unlock code according to your IMEI.

In my opinion, support should also include optimization of software/drivers so devices don't get downgraded to "basic tasks" after a few years. And as I said in my previous post, this concept of support also includes software and web developers who should lower their reliance on fast hardware to perform badly optimized operations.

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That's a 10-year old phone that was mid-range then. Its specs today are lower than that of the cheapest phone on the market. But I agree that phone makers could do more. Apple does (minus the repairing). My point was simply that updates are not that important. Many phones work well years after the updates stop, especially if they had good ROMs to begin with.
And I am surprised by the P10. It should work better. (A reset, maybe?)

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