Improve software update longevity for budget Android phones

At first glance a new budget android usually looks like the better deal. brand new phone, bigger battery, sometimes a higher refresh rate screen, and usually more storage for the money. But the thing that always makes me pause is longevity. Older iphones tend to get around 5 or 6 years of ios updates. so even if the phone is already a few years old it can still keep getting security updates and new features for a long time. Most budget android phones on the other hand usually get around 2 or maybe 3 years of updates depending on the brand. That’s probably why you still see people using phones like the iphone 11 or iphone 12 today without too many problems, while a lot of cheaper android phones start feeling outdated sooner. At the same time budget android phones still have some advantages. bigger batteries, more customization, sometimes better displays for the price, and of course the phone is brand new instead of used. So it kind of feels like a simple tradeoff. new hardware right now, or something older that’s known to last longer.