that isnt how markets really work. you could say that if apple had two otherwise identical iphones except one has removable battery and one doesn't. but the enshittification cycle works via a ratcheting effect. once you achieve a certain level of dominance and lock-in, you can start getting away with all kinds of anti-consumer strategies to make more money and not get punished for it, and your competitors will follow suit. as long as you can ratchet above whatever detrimental thing you want to get away with is you'll probably be fine.

you can look at the lightning connector as an example. if you said "if people wanted usb connectivity they wouldn't buy iphones", nobody would take you seriously. and when apple was forced to switch, it absolutely didnt tank their sales because people just loved the lightning connector so much. the bad thing went away and it was great.

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matchbok3 2 hours ago | parent [-]

If Apple could make money from removable batteries, meaning there was a market for it and people wanted it over some other alternative, are you suggesting they are not smart enough to do the research and work necessary to accomplish that?

The reality is people don't want it, at all. At least not enough to warrant action. So the story ends there.

Also, the lighting connector is better than USB in every way. Mandating an inferior technology is an odd choice.

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anonymars 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

False dichotomy. The question isn't whether you can make money with a replaceable battery, but whether you can make more money by selling specialized service (or an entirely new phone) than a battery. What else are people going to do, not buy a phone? Switch operating systems entirely?

This whole thing becomes more obvious in the Android world, where models with various features do exist, but only in certain markets

Even then, this whole line of argument seems moot because if the battery still holds enough charge over time the regulations don't even require it to be replaceable

	▲	matchbok3 an hour ago \| parent [-]
		People can, and do, switch OSes. Or use a flip phone.

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hashmap an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

> If Apple could make money from removable batteries, meaning there was a market for it and people wanted it over some other alternative, are you suggesting they are not smart enough to do the research and work necessary to accomplish that?

sort of missed the point. market dominance and lock-in means they already are the 800-lb gorilla, and removable batteries sit below where it'd move most people to switch

> The reality is people don't want it, at all.

lmao thats a good blither

https://www.androidauthority.com/removable-battery-poll-resu...

> Also, the lighting connector is better than USB in every way. Mandating an inferior technology is an odd choice.

right, except in the ways that matter and that people care about

	▲	matchbok3 an hour ago \| parent [-]
		Sourcing a tiny, esoteric, tech-heavy, developer website poll about smartphone batteries is not a fair sample of the billions of people in the world that use smartphones. lmao.