According to the following article, the elements required for mobiles are becoming scarcer, yet there is no change to the “one size fits all” approach by the various vendors.
Case in point, limited support for new devices does not depend on date of purchase.
The support policies of these companies are based on the idea of limited lifetime of the operating system, and that the memory/batteries in the devices will physically wear out in three or four years. It is sometimes difficult to conceive any plausibility of the artificial constructs of O/S and firmware projected against the background of dwindling physical resources.
The user-case issue is the occasional usage of the device, no more than one or two hours per week. Thus the 2016 tablet here is still perfectly usable, and probably will be for at least two or three years more, yet certain apps, particularly authenticator apps will not run because of an outdated O/S detection. The manufacturers could surely grep metadata as to how, when the device is used, and create a serviceability score, by providing the option of generating regular diagnostic reports per user. It makes sense for the condition of the hardware itself to determine the ongoing usability of the device.
The benefit to client is to defer the cost of a new device for the extended service, the benefit to earth mitigates the necessity of ripping out and processing more of these elements, or more e-waste recycling,
The benefit to provider could be the extension of the period of serviceability at a reasonable cost, based on the number of firmware/security or O/S revisions proceeding the cut-off date.
