I think the manufacturers intend the phones to be obsolete after two years, but there are perfectly good phones that will run for years. I've had a Nexus 4 sinc

I think the manufacturers intend the phones to be obsolete after two years, but there are perfectly good phones that will run for years. I've had a Nexus 4 since early 2013 and it came out generally in 2012. Still runs just as well as the first day I got it, Lollipop and all. The only problems I've had have been with the software, but that can happen on any hardware. I thought about buying an iPhone last year and will think about it this year again and likely keep it at least another year or two unless I give it to someone else who will use it also for that period of time. Five years isn't bad for a phone. That being said, I would not buy a Google hardware product since they will not fix software bugs that affects their two year old hardware even if that bug is that phone calls don't work. I can see that from other manufacturers, but since Google owns Android, that's inexcusable. The hardware itself is tough as nails though.