[Chestofdraw]

I honestly can't see why people care so much about having long update windows. Batteries simply aren't good for many cycles so it doesn't make sense to support a phone for longer than its battery will last.

Also, it's a pretty reasonable assumption that users who don't care to be on the latest hardware don't care to be on the latest software.

[MereInterest]

Which is entirely by design, when they make batteries not be swappable. If your goal is to make a good product, it makes perfect sense to have a long update window, just as it makes perfect sense to offer replacement batteries.

[Chestofdraw]

If your goal is to make a good product then introducing points of failure around its power supply probably isn't a great idea.

[MereInterest]

The battery itself is a far bigger point of failure than the connection to the battery. If your goal is to make a good product, it is worth introducing a small failure mode in order to remove a larger one. Since most phones no longer have replaceable batteries, they are hosed once the battery no longer holds a charge.

[ralfd]

I used my iPhone 4S from 2011 till today. Battery is still fine according to coconutBattery. I am very glad I am not stuck on iOS 5, but that Apple supported it till iOS 9.3

As an aside: If your battery dies you don't have to buy a new smartphone, but just a replacement battery. On ebay it costs around 10 dollars with tools.

[Chestofdraw]

Assuming this isn't a roundabout way of saying you've replaced your battery a few times then you have been exceptionally careful and have been lucky to get and exceptionally good battery. Your situation is going to be experienced by a statistically insignificant amount of people.

For most users a 5 year old battery is going to be completely useless and it's going to be attached to a screen that has been shattered beyond usability.

[snowwrestler]

Because of security.