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Non-replaceable battery has got to be one of the most profitable examples of planned obsolescence. Your average consumer is going to notice that their phone is lagging more frequently and attribute that to their phone being old… when in reality it’s just that their battery has degraded [1]. So, what could’ve been a <$100 replacement becomes a $1000 upgrade.

[1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210557?cid=iOS_SettingsUI_...

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Even in the age of easily swappable batteries I don't think many people actually did swap them. I had a Samsung S5 and when the battery started to go, I walked up to the samsung store for a new battery, and they told me they didn't sell them and I'd have to go online to get one.

As well as the fact that back then phones progressed much faster so by the time your battery gave out, the new phone was much much better.

Agreed. Back then switching to a new phone was justifiable since there would be a noticeable quality of life improvement between a couple generations. Now, I think we’ve reached that point where the new phone is not significantly better. Or at least, not worth the extra cost compared to a battery replacement.

Easily swappable batteries would be a big value add now for a lot of people.

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