why don't smartphone makers remove the power button from smartphones?

mspdb

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Jan 8, 2018
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i recently got mugged and my device was stolen. i went to the police and we tracked my device on ADM as we were 10 minutes away from my device the guy managed to switch the phone off and we couldn't locate him from there.

then i thought why don't smartphone makers incorporate the power button with the fingerprint scanner so that before when you switch on or off your device verification is required?
 

Rukbat

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Feb 12, 2012
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Good idea but ...

If the phone is stolen, the phone will be on permanently (you'd want to defeat the automatic shutoff too, or the thief could simply keep the phone in a steel box until the battery ran out), so the battery will be destroyed. In phones that don't have removable batteries that means a trip to a repair shop or the manufacturer and about a week more of going without a phone (plus the expense of having the battery replaced, which can be close to the price of some cheaper phones, since the back has to be removed using a heat gun). And I'm probably forgetting a few other reasons it's not a good idea. Oh, yes - sometimes the fingerprint scanner fails - that would be another point against the idea.