The only drawback is that the battery life has gotten worse since I originally bought it. But if I could easily swap that out, I would keep it for another five years.
EDIT: Oh, and the fingerprint scanner on the power button seems to work way more reliably, IMO, than the embedded fingerprint scanners under the touchscreens.
The S22 (standard version) has slightly bigger screen but is quite similar in size, so that is probably what I will use next.
I'm not saying it's trivial (it's not hard, but has a large enough amount of small actions to execute), but it's definitely worth doubling (or more) the phone duration.
The FamousProducer™ of my phone supported it for 3 years. This is terrible. LineageOS allows me to use it now - over 3 years after the end of support. Screw FamousProducer™.
Given that the S10e's battery life is already waning, I'm not sure I want to do that. But yes! If there were a safe way to do so, I would gladly run LOS on the phone for ten years.
Why be so coy about this? Naming and shaming should serve as a warning to those who might buy one expecting long term support, or as a spur to action towards LineageOS for those who many have been or are about to be blindsided by the support window expiring.
Another brand that seems to be well supported (although not as extensively, timewise, as Samsung) is Google. LineageOS still supports the Pixel 1.
I really don't know why people think they need a new phone every year. I've had 2 in the past decade. Both bought cheaply second hand [previous one am HTC One M8] and I got years of use out of each. In fact the One M8 is still working fine, apart from the degraded battery life.
My real problem isn't the previous 3 year window but that it counts from the first day they sell it, not the last. I bought my current phone, a Pixel 3a, late in its cycle for cheaper, early in 2020. It's now basically at the end of its updates because the guarantee counts 3 years starting from the release date in mid-2019, not from when I bought it.
5 years is obviously preferable but I'd like them to have also shifted it to be based on when they stop selling them new.
If you buy from Amazon Renewed, for example, you have no idea exactly what you'll get. You could get a pristine unit without a scratch on it with a battery that has barely 10 cycles, or you could get a well worn (with plenty of micro scratches and minor nicks) with a battery that's been cycled 500+ times. It's kind of a crap-shoot when it comes to buying refurbished.
As someone who takes pride in keeping my phones absolutely perfect and even micro-scratch free, it's too much of a risk.
Disable animations and it s not really slow.
There's absolutely no replacement for this phone right now. Flagship specs, amazing camera, decent battery, SD card, headphone jack, 1440p screen. There's nothing like it.
PS: the in screen fingerprint sensor was quite horrible initially, but updates over the years have made it quite similar to a regular sensor.