So your argument is that consumers expect their batteries to be glued inside the phone because it’s “something different?” That doesn’t make much sense.
How is “consumers used to buy x when it was all that was available so obviously they must prefer it over y” anywhere close to a rational argument?
That’s the argument you made in your previous comment, that people are buying up phones with sealed batteries because that’s what they want even though that’s the only option available. I’m still waiting for your examples of two comparable phones being sold at the same time, one with a sealed battery and one without and the sealed phone selling better. I suppose you skipped over that because it’s never happened.
The s21 ultra has a much bigger battery in a smaller footprint.
You claimed that phones are thinner now because they’re sealed. The S21 Ultra is larger than the Note 4 in every dimension. It has a larger footprint to accommodate the larger battery.
If any manufacturer were deliberately making their phones worse, other manufacturers would be capitalizing on that and taking their market share.
Based on what? There is barely any competition these days. Two companies control a majority of the market.
Phones are easier to repair today than they were 3-5 years ago
So what? Phones were much easier to repair 5+ years ago. Why did you choose 2018 as your cutoff when smartphones existed for an entire decade prior to that?
Phone firmware is no more locked down now than it has been in the past
False. Most phones can’t be rooted these days when it used to be a common thing.
the steel bezels and flat glass on iPhones since the 12 pro make them FAR more durable than any phone I’ve used.
Well based on your prior comments, I’m assuming you’re fairly young and didn’t have a smartphone prior to sometime around 2018. I’ve had smartphones since the original Android on the HTC G1 and it wasn’t until getting my S21 Ultra that I’ve had to buy a case since Samsung and Apple decided to encase their phones in glass. I’d hate to break it to you but glass is not in fact a durable substance. I still have my 9 year old plastic and aluminum Note 4 running with zero damage and it never once lived in a case and has been dropped hard enough to leave gouges in the aluminum. That isn’t possible with glass encased phones regardless of how much you want it to be true. Deformed aluminum was an issue with the iPhone because they cheaped out on the materials and made them so thin that you could fold the phone in half with your fingers.
I think smartphones are getting worse because I’ve been using them for 16 years and can tell the difference. I’m sure if all you use your phone for is checking social media and snapping photos of your lunch for Instagram, you wouldn’t notice the difference, but some of us actually want more out of a $1500 computer.