• BB69@lemmy.world
          5·
          9 months ago

          Storage for what though? That’s why I asked. My device storage is 256 and I’ve only used 100, that’s with 700 songs downloaded. I’m curious what you need a ton of storage for.

          • Duranie@literature.cafe
            13·
            9 months ago

            Because having the option of using a micro SD can provide additional storage that is significantly less expensive than buying a phone with larger storage capacity.

          • LucasWaffyWaf@lemmy.world
            8·
            9 months ago

            I’ve about 2,000 and counting FLAC files on my micro SD card for high quality audio. Many from my CD collection, and a nice amount obtained through other means. I’m already at 90 gigs used in my 256 gig card.

            I’ll be getting a new phone at the end of the year, and to transfer all that music (plus my commissioned art collection) all I’d have to do it just pop the card into the new phone.

            No wrestling with cloud storage subscriptions or having to worry about my digital stuff being in somebody else’s hands. Just keep it on a tiny card smaller than my fingernail and back it up periodically to my desktop and my laptop. Best part is that I don’t even need any adapters to use headphones, as Motorola phones still have headphone jacks.

            There’s people with downloaded movies and shows they like having local access to without any streaming woes, folks who take tons of photos and videos, etc. Having an SD card slot is one of the requirements I need for me to want to use a phone.

      • 9Bsk3IVAnlAYf@lemmyf.uk
        6·
        9 months ago

        I like that all of my media is on a removable card I can pop in any device I want and it doesn’t interfere with system files and apps. Makes the initial setup of a new device much easier, not to mention backing it up to my hard drive (cp -r * /media/user/whatever_disk and I’m done).

          • stratosfear@lemmy.sdf.org
            12·
            9 months ago

            That’s the ultimate irony of being young now - satisfied with awful tech experiences. Watching videos on a tiny screen and listening to music on earbuds or even worse, a cell phone speaker.

            I recently saw an Amazon review where someone couldn’t believe how much better full size headphones were than their apple airpods. A whole review blathering about why a speaker 25x larger sounded better. “Never imagined such a difference!!!” Funny af

            And the tech companies absolutely know this.

          • GeneralEmergency@lemmy.world
            1·
            9 months ago

            From the average user’s perspective, there is no real need.

            Back in the day your 0.2 megapixel camera would take up a lot of space. That’s not the case anymore, especially with cloud storage and being able to just plug your phone into a computer and take the files off it that way.

            • kratoz29@lemm.eeEnglish
              2·
              9 months ago

              Huh, buddy, I have some news for you, current cameras have evolved too which means that pics and especially videos take a lot of storage today too… (Not to mention that app resolution has also grown up which means they are heavier too).

      • danc4498@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        9 months ago

        28 net downvotes so far for asking “why”. I think Lemmy is becoming more toxic than Reddit was.

  • Queen HawlSera@lemm.eeEnglish
    59·
    9 months ago

    That’s actually making a comeback because the EU got pissed.

    My phone’s brand new and it has a removable battery, not even in the EU

    • fat_stig@lemmy.worldEnglish
      43·
      9 months ago

      I think it is because the EU listened to the people. This is what you get when elected representatives are not bankrolled by big business, and are allowed to enact legislation that doesn’t only benefit one side.

      • SuddenDownpour@sh.itjust.works
        3·
        9 months ago

        The EU has politicians that manage to legislate against the interests of gigantic tech corporations because European tech corporations are far smaller, and thus have much less leverage. Even if the US political system was significantly less corrupt, they’d probably still have issues to legislate against them.

  • TheSpermWhale@lemmy.worldEnglish
    57·
    9 months ago

    Coz batteries degrade over time, and this way you’re either forced to buy a new phone, or have to pay to have the battery replaced

    • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
      40·
      9 months ago

      It’s also 10x easier to achieve IP67 water resistance with the battery sealed off. Having a removable battery would require more engineering contrary to shareholders’ wishes.

      • dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world
        10·
        9 months ago

        This also contributes to the bulk of the device. IIRC, at the time things shifted to sealed designs, Apple and others were competing to make phones as thin, wide, and tall as possible. But that’s not really an excuse; we can probably do better nowadays.

  • Cover_czar@lemmy.ml
    38·
    9 months ago

    No headphone jack
    No memory card slot
    No ir blaster

    Why are they making it a useless device??

      • helenslunch@feddit.nl
        4·
        9 months ago

        There’s a spectrum. On one end you have people who pay zero attention to features and just buy whatever is “hot” or whatever is the latest iPhone. On the other is your “get off my lawn” types, still clinging to an LG V20 or maybe paying a ridiculous price for a Sony phone that has what should be basic features.

        I think most of us fall towards the latter end. We hold out as long as we can but when these basic features are removed from 95% of the market your choices get real fuckin’ slim, real fast. And ultimately things like security updates, competitive pricing and functional batteries get the better of us.

      • agent_flounder@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        9 months ago

        I love that my pixel 4a has a headphone jack. I’m overdue for an upgrade but I know I’m going to lose my fingerprint sensor and jack. Yeah it’s a security risk but this phone still works and performs well. I hate stupid planned obsolescence. I wished tech was more about stability and long life. But I guess that doesn’t make enough billions in revenue.

        • timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          2·
          9 months ago

          Those have any long lasting issues? My old 5a had the motherboard go. Trying to find a suitable replacement. Going back a generation wouldn’t be terrible if it’s reliable.

          • agent_flounder@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            9 months ago

            No idea. I got this used about 3 years ago. Never had to search for solutions to problems so I don’t know if they have any common issues.

            Given the issues with some of the newer pixels I wished Google would’ve left well enough alone with the fingerprint sensor :)

    • zeekaran@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      1·
      9 months ago

      IR blasters are fine, so few TVs even use them now. Storage, eh, 512 is default these days and I’m only using 25% of that (assuming you meant storage and not memory).

      Headphone jacks and replaceable batteries are huge though. I’m still pissed about that.

    • AItoothbrush@lemmy.zipEnglish
      1·
      9 months ago

      I still keep my old phone on my desk and put it in my bag because is has weeklong battery when i dont use it and it has an ir blaster.

    • Baby Shoggoth [she/her]English
      1·
      9 months ago

      i haven’t used wired headphones since a few years before jacks went away, and i have never missed that effing cable

  • tslnox@reddthat.com
    36·
    9 months ago

    The only valid reason is waterproofing. If the phone isn’t waterproof, it’s only to limit repairability… Also one factor in that was, I believe, the thinness war, but that’s pretty much over now as they all got to the practical limit I guess.

    • KrokanteBamischijf@feddit.nl
      28·
      9 months ago

      Unfortunately we still see too many people push the “but my IP rating” narrative without realising that engineers are perfectly able to design gaskets for all kinds of applications.

      Some phones with removable batteries even had them and were (to a certain degree) waterproof.

      The ONLY reason phones are no longer servicable is profits. Why extend a product’s lifespan if you can just frustrate the consumer to the point where they will just buy another one?

        • KrokanteBamischijf@feddit.nl
          2·
          9 months ago

          Nuclear powered- or nuclear capable submarines? Though I guess in nuclear powered submarines the “batteries” are actively unglueing themselves, which is what powers them in the first place.

          Fission power in phones when?

          • uis@lemmy.world
            1·
            9 months ago

            Nuclear powered- or nuclear capable submarines?

            Both?..

            in nuclear powered submarines the “batteries” are actively unglueing themselves

            Fair enough. But I was thinking about other batteries in case something happems to “batteries”.

      • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
        1·
        9 months ago

        I want to know what all these people are doing with their phones… I’ve needed a phone to be waterproof exactly one time. 20 years ago when I got chucked into a pool with my flip phone in my pocket. I’ve had about a dozen batteries stop charging properly and needed replacement since then.

        • KrokanteBamischijf@feddit.nl
          2·
          9 months ago

          I have this habit where I try to squeeze every bit of use out of a device until something forces me to get a new one.

          My latest two phones have both lasted for 7 years, and I’m still not planning on upgrading until someting breaks.

          In all those years I have never encountered a situation where I would have benefited from my phone being more waterproof than just basic ingress protection. Higher IP ratings are only helpful for those who don’t want to be conscious of their possessions and want insurance in case of accidents instead of preventing the situations outright.

          If we truly want to reduce our impact on the use of natural resources, we should start with eradicating the mindset that things being disposable is somehow fine.

    • octopus_ink@lemmy.mlEnglish
      18·
      9 months ago

      I’m not even sure thinness was something consumers ever would have demanded (at the sacrifice of battery life) if the mfrs hadn’t pushed it as a selling point.

      In the flipphone days I didn’t know many people who didn’t have at least one spare battery, so they could swap to a fresh one on the go without having to charge, or bought extra thick batteries with higher capacity, extending the back of the phone.

      Then when smartphones had removable batteries, lots of people still did those things. And all during that time I remember many reviewers and consumers reacting to many of the “thinness” claims with “I’d really like a bigger battery instead.”

      I also remember it being proven that apple’s removal of the headphone jack impacted neither waterproofing nor thinness, despite their claims. (But then of course one by one others started following suit.)

      I think it’s better for mfrs and that’s the only reason. It saves them money on mfr, or gets phones tossed in the bin faster. Possibly both.

      I’d still take 2 or 3 more mm of thickness for an amazing battery.

      • renzev@lemmy.world
        7·
        9 months ago

        I’m not even sure thinness was something consumers ever would have demanded

        I am entirely convinced that most “features” on modern devices are not “something consumers would have demanded”. Sure, different lenses is nice if you’re a hobbyist photographer, but do most people really need more than a single back-facing camera? Do most people want to have wireless earbuds at the cost of not having a headphone jack? Do most people want glass backs and other such gimmicks that make their device more fragile? I’ve been told for decades that the modern economic system is great because competition forces manufacturers to prioritize what is best for the consumers. But in the context of smartphones, it feels like the roles are completely reversed. Manufacturers come up with some bullshit and then mount psy-ops (ad campaigns, online astroturfing) to convince the population that it’s worth their money

      • unrelatedkeg@lemmy.sdf.org
        6·
        9 months ago

        About thinness: I also like my phones bendy and snappy (iPhone 6), as well as exploding batteries (Galaxy Note 7 or 10, I don’t remember the exact model tbh).

        Or you have to ‘hold it right’ (OG iPhone).

        These were all huge issues that could be fixed without sacrificing the thinness.

        Thinness shouldn’t be used as an excuse for otherwise shitty phones, since it’s clearly a non-sequitur.

      • lunarul@lemmy.world
        1·
        9 months ago

        I’m not even sure thinness was something consumers ever would have demanded

        Something popular back in the removable battery days was to replace them with thicker extended capacity batteries. So no, battery life was more important to a lot of comsumers.

    • ulterno@lemmy.kde.socialEnglish
      17·
      9 months ago

      My casio watch is waterproof. [100M Water Resistant] And it has a user replacable battery. With a gasket inside and cool looking screws. (yes, I consider screws to be cool) Also, it costs less than $20

      • KISSmyOS@feddit.de
        6·
        9 months ago

        Your Casio watch also has a manual with a warning inside saying it won’t be waterproof anymore after a battery replacement unless you send it in to Casio to replace the battery.

        • ulterno@lemmy.kde.socialEnglish
          15·
          9 months ago

          • Casio watch warranty period: 24 months

          • Casio watch advertised battery lifetime: 10 years

          • My Casio watch actual battery lifetime: 5 years

          • I didn’t have to open it until 2x the time of official warranty.

          • The gasket had gunk in it on the outer side, so I cleaned it, but I could have gotten a replacement from one of the local Casio stores.

          • The strap has broken 2 times until now (yeah, I’m kinda rough on it) and replacing that doesn’t void any warranty.

            • The standardised nature means, I can get either Casio branded straps (even from other models if my model is discontinued) or other generic straps.

          • I am nearing the point at which it might require another battery change, but either way it’s worked pretty well.

          • I take hot water baths with it and even though I never used it up-to 100m (I’m not really into diving), I haven’t seen rust or moisture in the inside.

          • Of course, if you open the stuff and change something yourself, it’s up to you to warranty it. You can’t expect them to trust every tom, dick and harry who might:

            1. Not tighten the screws well enough
            2. Not place the gasket back in place
            3. Do any other random stuff

          and officially say that they will cover that. I know I wouldn’t.

          The point is, they let you do what you want and help you at a reasonable price (the replacement straps were priced appropriately).

          I can’t say the same for the fancier models though.

      • aberrate_junior_beatnik@midwest.socialEnglish
        5·
        9 months ago

        Screws are an incredible wonder. Itty bits of metal with fine threading to attach two things? And we just produce like billions of the things? Truly amazing.

        • ulterno@lemmy.kde.socialEnglish
          3·
          9 months ago

          I’d love to have a phone with 8 screws and a gasket in the back cover instead of the fixed plastic latches that the Fairphone and others have. Easily more water tolerant and love the industrial feel.

    • Alex@feddit.ro
      5·
      9 months ago

      You can have ip68 removable battery phones. Check out samsung xcover

      • SkiDude@lemmy.world
        3·
        9 months ago

        You can, but every hardware feature you add takes physical space in the phone. Making a phone waterproof requires adding stuff to the phone, which takes away space for other things. Usually battery size ends up being one of the things that takes a hit. You want a phone that’s waterproof and has a removable battery? Then the battery size gets reduced by X%, or some other features people care about get dropped.

        • Alex@feddit.ro
          1·
          9 months ago

          Ffs make it thicker. Most phones are already too tall to fit in most pkckets, and the added thickness would make them more comfy to hold

    • madcaesar@lemmy.world
      40·
      9 months ago

      Who needs a micro SD when you can pay a subscription cloud service for the rest of your life??? - morons responding to me every time I lament the need for an SD card

      Not to mention if your screen gets fucked you can remove the card and have all your photos / movies instantly

      • shork@lemmy.world
        3·
        9 months ago

        Why not both! I love SD but its also pretty handy I can access photos from my PC without needing any further action (I refer mostly to OneDrive right now) SD still rules tho.

    • normalexit@lemmy.world
      11·
      9 months ago

      This drives me crazy. An iPhone 15 pro max with 256gb of storage is 1199 and the 512gb is 1399.

      So $200 for an extra 256gb. Meanwhile a fast, name brand, 1tb micro SD card is about $100.

    • MisterHex@lemmy.world
      4·
      9 months ago

      They still do. My 2021 model phone has dual SIM, with one of the slots being enabled for either a SIM card or a SD card.

    • Ignotum@lemmy.world
      16·
      9 months ago

      Same here

      They say stuff like repairability, durability, not using child slavery, yada yada not important

      the easily replaceable battery is what really caught my eye and brought me to the yard!

    • Kidplayer_666@lemm.ee
      14·
      9 months ago

      I kinda hate the fact they took of the headphone jack. Conveniently, they started selling their own buds with that launch

    • papertowels@lemmy.one
      2·
      9 months ago

      If you don’t mind me asking, what country are you in?

      I know murena sells in the US, but I’ve always avoided it because it seems like buying parts is still going to be a PITA, and what’s the point of a repairable phone if you can’t get parts?

  • apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world
    26·
    9 months ago

    Take away user choice, use really bad excuses like water proofing and space saving, and you can be sure consumers will iteratively buy more frequently and spend more for cloud services.

    Bye battery Bye bye headphone jack Bye bye user expandable storage.

    Capitalism has steered us to this as the preferable product.

    • platypus_plumba@lemmy.world
      4·
      9 months ago

      It really sucks that they charge so much money for the storage difference. Why are the pricing tiers based on the storage? It’s so strange.

      Anyways, I recall having a lot of issues with external storage in the past. Like Android just didn’t integrate that shit properly. It was kinda painful having the phone data and photos in separate places. Don’t remember specifics, I just know I constantly wished they were a single location.

    • Buffaloaf@lemmy.world
      3·
      9 months ago

      I blame Apple. They slowly got rid of features and still sold a shit ton of phones. This is obviously more profitable so other companies followed.

    • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.caEnglish
      3·
      9 months ago

      So you’re telling me that capitalism works, and that it’s working as intended.

      I agree that this is a result of capitalism. But I would surmise that this is exactly the standard by which capitalism is based. Reduce complexity, reduce operating costs. That generally means that whatever you’re making is going to be generic with no customizability and no ability to be repaired or changed by the end user. Complete vertical integration with optimizations in productivity, materials cost, and other operating expenses, all while charging “as much as the market will bear”

    • aesthelete@lemmy.world
      2·
      9 months ago

      I ended up buying a Motorola razr because at least the fucking thing fits in my pocket for once. That’s honestly the biggest tangible benefit I’ve gotten out of a phone purchase in a while.

      Each iteration of phone seems more like something I don’t want to even be involved with. Maybe I’ll just buy a light phone next time.

      • platypus_plumba@lemmy.world
        3·
        9 months ago

        I remember when I could do everything with my phone using a single hand. I never grabbed my phone with two hands. Now I need two hands much more than before.

        • aesthelete@lemmy.world
          5·
          9 months ago

          I don’t know why phablets are a thing. Phones are too big imo.

          I had a Motorola g power from 2020? I think? That’s about the right size. I actually wish they could make a usable phone that’s about the size of the bottom half of this one I’m using right now, but it would take some UI innovation which nobody is interested in. It’s funny too because the bigger flagship phones are more expensive, but I’d never pay for that.

          • MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
            4·
            9 months ago

            You might be interested in the unique looking designs on https://www.unihertz.com/ .

            They’ve got some really tiny ones and some with physical keyboards even. I like the designs but dunno about their update commitment or hardware specs much.

            • Pantoffel@feddit.de
              2·
              9 months ago

              This sounds almost perfect. I’m missing the option to install a custom ROM or as you said specs on support.

              • apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world
                3·
                9 months ago

                Installing custom ROMs on devices is still way too difficult. Recently tried to install divestOS on an old Oneplus phone and it is currently in brick hell. I followed the instructions. Unlocking is easy, rooting is still a massive PITA.

  • FrankTheHealer@lemmy.world
    21·
    9 months ago

    My Fairphone 3 still has a removable battery. I replaced the battery myself last year. It took me 10 seconds once it arrived.

      • theonyltruemupf@feddit.de
        8·
        9 months ago

        Fairphone 3 still has the headphone jack, it was removed with Fairphone 4. Still worth it because you can swap out any component with a single screw driver within minutes and you get years of updates. Also while not perfect, they make an effort to source their materials as ethically as possible and pay the factory workers a living wage.

        • potustheplant@feddit.nl
          2·
          9 months ago

          You make it sound like they had to remove the headphone jack to have the other stuff. They didn’t. They just wanted to push users to buy their very not environmentally friendly wireless headphones/earbuds.

          • renzev@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            9 months ago

            As a f*irphone user, I feel so perplexed about this. On one hand, they do all these awesome things like unlocking the bootloader, repairability, opensourcing the schematics, etc. But on the other, they do this predatory garbage to get you to buy their shitty headphones. Just goes to show that companies are never your friends, not even “ethical” ones.

      • kofe@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        9 months ago

        You really still use wired headphones? I can’t remember the last time I used mine. My phone and laptop still have the jack but I hate them. Catch on everything, having to keep the device by me at all times (which I don’t always have pockets for), God forbid I forget I have em in and go to move around, get em yanked out of my ears or send the phone flying. I mean I get it if the wireless ones die, but even then, I’d rather wait for them to charge.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
          2·
          9 months ago

          And some of us just want to plug it in and not worry about it. If you want me to fully support wireless then I need a protocol that doesn’t randomly skip and robot.

        • potustheplant@feddit.nl
          1·
          9 months ago

          Catch on everything, having to keep the device by me at all times (which I don’t always have pockets for), God forbid I forget I have em in and go to move around, get em yanked out of my ears or send the phone flying.

          You’d be perfect for an infomercial.

          I’d rather wait for them to charge

          Godd luck doing that when the battery can no longer hold a charge.

          • HACKthePRISONS@kolektiva.social
            0·
            9 months ago

            I was very resistant to getting a smartphone. I think my first Android was the blackberry q20. then a Samsung A10? I resisted touchscreens. I wanted physical ports and memory expansion and buttons.

            and while I still hate touchscreens, I learned to like Bluetooth headphones. specifically, the Anker a3212.

            maybe you would like them, too.

            I also previously really liked the besign sh03 headphones, and I’m now lusting after the Sony wi-1000xm2

            • potustheplant@feddit.nl
              1·
              9 months ago

              I don’t “dislike” bluetooth headphones. They certainly are more convenient and I used them for things like going to the gym, commuting, vacuuming, etc. The problem is when that’s your only option for no good reason. There’s absolutely no excuse for omitting the headphone jack. Strange Parts on YT even added it to an iPhone that didn’t have it and it works just fine so no, it’s not a space problem and it would also not prevent the phone from being water resistant.

              I like my Sony WF-1000XM4s but they don’t sound as balanced as my Moondrop Aria or AKG K361 and they certainly aren’t as durable.

              • HACKthePRISONS@kolektiva.social
                0·
                9 months ago

                i have not been able to justify any true wireless headphones at all. three loose parts, three batteries, so many failure points. it’s like the problem you’re explaining on steroids.

                • potustheplant@feddit.nl
                  1·
                  9 months ago

                  For walking (especially in winter) and going to the gym, they’re very practical. But yeah, you can’t get too attached. My earbuds in particular have a design flaw and Sony’s replaced them 4 times already.

        • renzev@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          9 months ago

          You’re missing the point. It’s not about whether you like to use wired headphones or not, it’s about giving the user the choice to use them or not. Wired headphones are more sustainable, because they require less components, and don’t have batteries that degrade over time (and require slave labour to produce). So a company that brands itself as sustainable and ethical should absolutely include a headphone jack.

  • Steamymoomilk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    20·
    9 months ago

    “There removable, see all you need is 7 specialized tools!”

    “We cant have users replacing there own batterys what if they puntchure or swallow the battery?”

    “Making the battery removable would make the phone more bulky and limits innovation”

    -Companys BS reasons

  • smileyhead@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    19·
    9 months ago

    Computers were not stopping you from running any software you want, until they got small enough for people to forget they are still computers.

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
      15·
      9 months ago

      Also so that phones require more frequent replacement. Usually the battery goes first. It doesn’t hold a charge or undervolts and slows down the phone. They want you to buy a new phone every two years.