Logged into my banking app for it to tell my that my version of Android is outdated, leaving me vulnerable to attacks, and that I need to update my system. I see no updates and sure enough, the manufacturer just recently declared my phone EOL.
I could still log in to my banking app after dismissing the warning but how long is that going to last? Am I actually in danger of being hacked while browsing the Internet on my phone?
Do I really need to splurge on a new phone now? There's nothing wrong with this one. Fuck smartphones, honestly- sure, this shit also happens on PCs with Windows, but you usually get at least a decade of support. I've had this phone for less than five years, and at least with computers you could stick your preferred version of Linux on your outdated device to get more life out of it
It's also really cool how everyone in modern Western society is essentially dependent on one of two Yank megacorps to function, since you need an online bank account to verify your identity for basic shit like healthcare, social security and so on and those require either a Google Store or iPhone app
Phones really are in a bad spot, even ROMs that extend lifespan come at a cost to Security a lot of the time. It's completely up to a manufacturer how long to give a phone security updates, and the phone could die before that due to irreplaceable batteries. When looking at phones that last long, the only options (that I would consider) are the Fairphone and the Pixel, of which only the latter even supports Graphene OS. I do know that Fairphone tries to extend the lifespan even further than they promise, but the phones are really expensive for what they provide.
I would go for one of the Pixel 8s if you need a new phone, a bit more expensive (edit: than a budget phone) but they are promising 7 years of updates, and you can install Graphene OS on it (Graphene OS works with banking apps as well.)