While phones have come a long way, from bricks with a screen to small computers, there have been downgrades depending on who you ask. For instance, the headphone jack, a feature that still has its uses but is being phased out anyways to accommodate wireless technology. 

Some don’t care about these changes, some do; this is the price of change. However, there is one feature that has been absent for a few years now. One that still has some frustrated to this day.

Modern phones do not have “removable” batteries.

Removing a Useful Feature

Removable batteries have not been completely phased out when it comes to phones, but they’re close. Plus, the phones that do have removable batteries aren’t the high-end models you may be thinking of.  

But why? Why remove a feature that let users spend $20-$30 on a new battery, lets users replace a battery as easily as installing some VPN software, and not spend hundreds on a simple battery replacement? Apple never even adopted a removable battery in their iPhones. Just why?

Money…

is what I would say if I wanted to end the article here. There’s always more than one side to the story, so let’s see why manufacturers decided removable batteries were expendable.

Sacrificing Function for Form

Most phone manufacturers have defended themselves by explaining a variation of the same defense: it would affect the form of the phone.

While that defense sounds like an excuse, it is 100% valid. Removable batteries require the backplate of the phone to be made of a material that can be easily removed, usually plastic. However, do you want to spend $1,000 on a phone, only for it to have a plastic backing? I think not.

You may also notice that most manufacturers use glass or metal for their phone’s bodies; these materials make it difficult to create an easy access point to the battery.

The other issue is water-resistance. Before smartphones were obtaining high water-resistance ratings, companies like Samsung had separate flagship models designed for the outdoor lifestyle. Nowadays, you only have the one flagship line, and these phones are already resistant to water.

But to get the desired water-resistance, you need the phone to be tightly put together, so that there is no access point that water can seep through, AKA no removable parts and glued components.

Though, even with all these legitimate reasons for removing the removable battery, something still seems off. Oh wait, that’s right: money.

We Need your Money

This week, Gizmodo released a report that highlighted Apple’s desire to limit customers’ interactions with their phone’s internals. The report explains that Apple has made it impossible to replace the battery inside newer iPhones—even if done by a professional third party—due to software locks.

This is a bold move by Apple that sets a precedent. This precedent? They want your money and don’t care how they get it.

I don’t mean to sound aggressive, but even valid reasoning can be backed up behind selfish motivation, and money is the main goal of a corporation. What’s that saying, “It’s the name of the game”?

We’ve been seeing this trend pop up in other industries as well, for example, the laptop market. It’s common for website iFixit.com to hand out 0’s, 1’s or 2’s to devices such as the Surface Pro, MacBook, etc. 

The removal of the removable battery is one that makes sense from a portable perspective but has ended up costing the consumer more. Remember how Apple only charged $30 to replace iPhone batteries after the whole sabotaged-battery controversy? That should be the norm.

Alas, ‘tis but a dream. And because of that, I will be going back to bed now, dreaming of replacing my iPhone 7’s battery as it is currently on the brink of death.