100% agree that they really need 3 years if they want anybody to buy them (outright or as part of a mobile/cell contracts).
As the cost of the phones has gone up, a lot of the mobile carriers are now getting people to sign up to 36 month contracts to spread the cost.... so if a phone doesn't have software support and updates for that long, it won't be popular (which means less revenue from them and less money to fund even 2 years of updates)... why would people want to sign up to paying for a phone for 3 years, but they'll still be paying for the phone for 12 months after the software updates stop?
I normally buy mine outright, but I still like the option to keep it for ~3yrs OR if they only provide 2 years, then I'll root it and run an AOSP build like LineageOS that DOES stay updated... but Sony seem to block that (can't re-install Sony camera software after rooting, etc)... and that option is only really well supported on the most popular phones, but when it does, it is REALLY supported: I can still see Lineage updates for the ~9yr old Samsung Galaxy S3 up to 26-AUG-2021 - i.e. THIS WEEK).
I know I'm a niche use-case in how I'm willing to try those solutions, but it is out of necessity... NOT desire... I'd much rather just buy a new phone every few years that gives a clean OS install that I can control and OS updates for the 3-4 year life of the phone.
