I think it was the Galaxy S4 that I had for 4 years, then the S8 for 3. I don't remember if/when updates stopped. I probably only had the phone I bought in 2010 for 2 years because back then they were still subsidizing new phone purchases at the 2 year mark.
Likes itOwned 4 years
Counterpoint: I have a rather good experience with Samsung. I bought flagships devices some time after their releases (I had S2, S4, S8 and now a S10e from work) and they lasted me a long time (S2 and S4 both lasted for four years). The big advantage is that they were powerful devices with a removable battery and a SD-card slot. Downside was a tendency to overheat a bit (this was particularly bad on the S2 at some point, though I recall subsequent software updates helped a lot). In all cases, the devices kept being updated to the latest android while I was using them. The Samsung Android additions are pretty much useless except maybe one or two good ideas, but they also don't get in the way. I just spend 30 minutes to disable things when I get my phone. Also I don't know if you've looked at real stock android (e.g. fire an emulator from Android studio for instance) but that stuff is real ugly (shouldn't be a big consideration - it can be themed quite easily, but I felt I needed to make this point).
Likes itOwned 4 yearsStill going
To match an anecdote with an anecdote - I've been using S4 for 3 years, and then gave it to my brother (I've upgraded to S7 with contract renewal), who's been using it for the past year too. The phone is still going strong. Feels slow-ish today, true, but still better than some of the cheaper Android phones OOTB. I blame Android's continued bloat creep[0] for that slowdown though. My brother had S3 before, and so does my SO, and they were all becoming less and less usable with time and each system update... -- [0] - Is there an official term for the phenomenon that software bloats expands to cancel out any improvements in hardware?
Likes it
I used to own S4 phone and it's one of the best smartphone ever. Actually even as the owner never knew that it has thermometer and humidity sensors built-in ten years ago that even most of the USD1K+ phones nowadays do not have these very useful sensors [1]. [1] What You May Not Know About GALAXY S4 Innovative Technology: https://news.samsung.com/global/what-you-may-not-know-about-...
Likes it
Galaxy S4 here. Still going strong. One day in the future, I will upgrade to an S5.
Recommends it
Wow, seems like Blackberry is well and truly out of fashion (at least with the Hacker News crowd). Not surprised to see the iPhone, Nexus and Samsung phones rating highly in the poll. Interested to see if there are any surprise risers as this gets more votes. I use a Samsung Galaxy S4 myself, best phone I've ever owned.
Doesn’t like it
Galaxy S4 display was tested by Displaymate[1] and even in the most accurate calibration mode (Movie Mode), it is still significantly less accurate. The maximum brightness is also significantly lower than that of iPhone 5's, which matters a lot to me. There are also other serious issues, like Dynamic Brightness Reduction based on APL. I personally used a Galaxy S4 and immediately noticed another very serious issue with the display. You can check out this thread on XDA forums[2] if you are curious. In summary, green subpixels have lower refresh rate, which causes gray (RGB 50,50,50) lines to temporarily turn into purple (RGB 50,0,50) while scrolling. This is unacceptable for a such an expensive and high end device. And this isn't the only issue. There are things I like about Touchwiz. I perfectly understand if you find it better than stock Android, which isn't perfect either. But my personal opinion is that it just seems to lack the design taste and consistency that stock Android and iOS have. [1] http://www.displaymate.com/Galaxy_S4_ShootOut_1.htm
[2] http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2252445