A lot of those design decisions can be explained by Apple’s push towards smaller, more waterproof and more durable devices. Like you mention, these choices do make Apple money. But, they also lead to a superior product.
>more durable
I disagree. Lithium cells wear out over time, they're a component that needs to be regularly replaced to maintain peak performance much like the tires on a car. A lot of iPhone users put up with this for some reason, lugging around external batteries as their phone ages which defeat the point of the space savings anyways. With my LG V20, I just buy a replacement battery every year and never have anxiety over finding a charger since it lasts all day even with heavy use.
As for waterproofing, the Samsung Galaxy S5 proved that you can have both a removable battery/SD card and maintain waterproofing. Plenty of action cameras have removable batteries too that don't compromise waterproofing.
klondike_|4 years ago
As for waterproofing, the Samsung Galaxy S5 proved that you can have both a removable battery/SD card and maintain waterproofing. Plenty of action cameras have removable batteries too that don't compromise waterproofing.