Major Android OEMs like Google and Samsung offer five years of software updates, which is about as good as it gets for many of the top Android phones around. That said, providing support for a device for an extended period of time is not a far-fetched reality, as demonstrated by Fairphone. The Dutch company launched the Fairphone 2 in 2015, running Android 5 Lollipop, and has continued to release regular updates for the device over the past seven years. But all good things must come to an end, and the phone is no exception as it finally bites the dust.

Fairphone confirmed earlier this year that it would stop software updates for the legacy smartphone sometime in March. Now, the Fairphone 2 has reached its end of life after more than seven years and 43 software updates (via The Verge). It's an admirable feat considering that Fairphone only promised up to five years of support.

The operating system is stuck with Android 10, which is quite old by today's standards. However, this was no small feat seeing as the Snapdragon 801 chipset fueling the device has been out of Qualcomm's good graces since the release of Android Nougat. That means updating the Fairphone 2 since 2016 has been extremely difficult, especially without Qualcomm's assistance.

That said, the Fairphone 2 continued to chug along until now, even if the team behind it was hard-pressed to support a device with only 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. After all, the whole point of Fairphone models is sustainability, which is achieved through a highly-repairable design and ethically sourced parts.

If you want to cling to your Fairphone 2 for the foreseeable future, Fairphone cautions that the phone will be insecure after May 2023 since it will no longer receive software fixes for future bugs. You can sideload or flash custom ROMs like Lineage OS if you insist on keeping it as your daily driver, though.

On the other hand, if you send in your old phone before the end of this month, you will receive a €50 credit toward the purchase of the newer Fairphone 4. The 2021 model is expected to receive six years of updates, and the company's reputation ensures this.