Dear Galaxy Nexus users... It's time to let go.
Don't think I've ever owned anything with such a serious planned obscolence issue. Windows supports its OS releases for 12 years (and doesn't lock you in, so you can usually follow official upgrade procedure anyway). And anything "dumber" than a smartphone doesn't really open itself up to these gaping security flaws, so still operates fine after many years.
Apple has better support than most, but even their phones degrade with features missing on older phones AND included new features run like ass (every time my fiance upgrades old phone to new iOS she hate life until upgrade).
A 2 year old phone really is ancient... much less three or four... Who actually supports phones that old CONSISTENTLY?
There's no fundamental reason a 2 year old phone should be seen as ancient. Hardware can last many times longer than that, and software can be updated. Google is just not making the effort to support its older devices.
For people like me who don't want to buy a new phone every 18 months (both a wasteful use of my money, and the earth's natural resources), Android is looking like a pretty bad choice.
iPhones have built in time lines (more or less replaceable anything. Need a new batter? Have fun...).
And then there is the face that if you want ANY kind of app support - not just OS. Facebook, Twitter, etc... - then you can't use old phones. Years old Windows phones. Look at Blackberry phones. Palm OS. No one supports them because well... no one supports them anymore.
I think it's more a function of the rapid change and growth of complexity that makes smartphones obsolete so quick. Screen density, cpu, graphics capabilities, hard drive space, antenna speeds, etc. EVERYTHING is increasing so quick that it's hard to compare a new phone to a 2 year old phone.
It'll most likely be years before it slows down enough that you can treat a smart phone like a PC - keep it for YEARS and expect most stuff to simply run on it.
With Android, if you find a beloved phone by many, you will be supported for YEARS. My gTablet was being updated by the community for 4 years after the last official update. My Galaxy Note has nightlies from multiple different projects. My wife's Sony Xperia Arc S has consistent updates still. You find a phone that people fell in love with and you will have your updates until the hardware is dead.
That's what I expect.
It became beyond the expected lifespan when it became normal to buy a new one every 2 years thanks to contract pricing and carriers pushing people to upgrade.
2 years is just a cost cutting exercise and inexcusable.