I hear you about support being a big deal. I'm still happily using my S10+, and am pissed that it just received its last update. It's working absolutely fine, and I have less than zero desire to 'upgrade' to a phone that doesn't have an audio jack, SD card support, and the ability to use swipe-style card readers to pay, three features I use on a daily basis. And yet before the year is up, I'll need to move on for security reasons alone.
It’s true. They’re one of the best values if you can afford them all things considered. Store network, long term software. Quality of SOC, all components.
If you can't afford one at new prices, you can always pick them up for a fraction of that 2-3yrs after release, and still get a solid few years of supported use out of them at that point.
Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.
Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We’ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future.
At this point I consider Apple's commitment to long term support to be a key element of my loyalty to them.