Technology experts believe that not allowing users to replace the battery themselves will limit the lifespan of smartphones. Although this opinion has a lot of support, over time, it is gradually becoming meaningless.
The need for removable batteries is gradually being forgotten by smartphone consumers
According to Counterpoint Research data, most people said they switched phones due to battery problems, followed by broken screens. However, this data is from 2017, when smartphones and batteries were quite different than they are today. Today's top high-end smartphones have batteries that last longer, can be used for about 3 years without losing a significant amount of capacity. This is consistent with consumers' habit of changing smartphones every 3 years.
But even if someone doesn't want to replace the entire phone, they can easily go to the service provider and have the battery replaced. However, replacing the battery can solve potential problems with old batteries but will not change the fact that 3-year-old smartphones are often not devices that support the user's work and usage habits well.
Many could argue that the latest Galaxy and Pixel phones have seven years of software support, including OS updates. However, none of these updates will include all the new features on models from three or four years ago, which stemmed from the hardware, not the battery. Hardware is also the main reason why cheap smartphones do not work well after a few software updates. By the time the battery is no longer usable, most people will be attracted to the newer features and better performance of new smartphones.
Adding a removable battery to most modern smartphones would require drastic design changes and this would not make users happy. For example, no one wants a smartphone that combines metal and glass to have to be changed back to a plastic case just because they want a removable battery.
