Removable batteries add a bit of thickness to the device - because you have to manufacture them in a casing that’s suitable for end users to handle directly, and you have to isolate the innards of the phone from the battery compartment to prevent accidental damage from end users poking about deliberately or accidentally, and you have to make the outer casing open-able, which means using clasps or clips rather than glue.
As long as there’s a drive for ‘thin’ (which may or may not remain true), then there’s a drive for non-removable batteries. I think it’s a little too early to say whether removable batteries are gone for good, as they are a selling point for some customers.
I have an LG Sunset, which is 0.43" thick with a removable battery. That’s less than a half inch. I really don’t know why I’d want anything thinner. If the battery gets to the point where it won’t hold a charge any more, I appreciate having the ability to replace it myself rather than paying a shop to do it for me.
Sure, but some people have to have the [del]biggest penis[/del] best toy, and with mobile phones, ‘thin’ is one of the factors in this judgment. This market sector also doesn’t care much about replaceable batteries, as they will be lining up for the next New One Of Something They Already Have before the battery in their current device dies.
They’re keeping the development of mobile technology rolling though, so I guess we should thank them.
Is there a recent count of how many Note7s had battery burnouts? And how many replacements did? The numbers I’ve heard just over 100 for the first and maybe 10 or so replacements. But those figures may be out of date since there quite a few people still using the phones.
And the mobile service providers cater to them with the service plans by which you never finish paying for the subsidized unit but just keep replacing it.
And yes, “thin” is in, even if most of us habe to put it in a protective case that doubles or triples the thickness. So’s smooth seamlessness which goes along with another big deal which is waterproofing (how hard is it to avoid dropping your phone into puddles?).
It isn’t puddles. How hard is it to convince guys not to talk on the phone when using a urinal or otherwise taking a pee? The number of drowned phones that are fished out of toilet bowls is nothing sort of astounding. :eek:
Gotta say, if THAT was not a sufficent deterrent to change the behavior I don’t know what would be. (Or dammit, keep it in a deep, secure pocket, not where it will fly out if you pull up your pants. )
Waterproofing is a big strike against user-replaceable batteries. I have an S5 Active, one of the first waterproof phones, and putting the battery cover back on is a dance of delicate fingerpresses to get the seals to line up again. And the phone constantly reminds you to check the covers. It’s obvious where a lot of their waterproofing failures came from.