Motorola recently launched several phones with no Android updates but five years of security patches in Europe.
This could be due to the company’s interpretation of EU regulations regarding software updates.
It seems like the regulations don’t actually force smartphone makers to offer software updates at all.
To my knowledge, has any Android API version been deprecated in under 5 years?
It doesn’t require deprecation. It could just be an app updating to use new APIs.
I read something about google’s play store requiring an API update every 2 years since late 2022, but i don’t know specifics.
I’m not sure, but even if that’s true, there are other stores available on slightly older versions (fdroid, obtainium, aurora). Note, however, that some newer versions of android will prevent app installation outside of their official play store (they tag it as "side loading, but it’s actually just installation).
Edit. Spelling.