I agree with indyp. Software really defines everything.

Lack of reliable vulkan driver update method from any vendor. Then there's pixels, where Google's every new update on their older phones is breaking some previously existing feature that was completely functional prior to updating.

They can promise whatever they like, doesn't make it right or morally acceptable.

They said it right before the Phone (1) was launched altogether: "Nothing OS 1.0 powered by Android 12, 3 years of major Android updates"

The same was even being said in your own review published on 07/23/2022:

QuoteNothing promises three major Android updates and four years of security patches

So this was surprising only to those struggling to calculate 12+3 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'll put it bluntly.  Software defines hardware.  Without software support, the hardware also loses support.  "Nothing" is a manufacturer I will never consider.  Even Oneplus, with scattered support for security updates on Android, is losing favor with me.