Why is Android moving away from Micro SD slots and removeable batteries?

[J Dubbs]

Amen brother!

 

[Torry Cox]

Micro SD cards and removable batteries are the last century. From them it was long overdue to refuse

 

[LeoRex]

removable batteries are becoming more rare because OEMs have decided that they aren't worth the trouble... it's not some secret OEM cabal hell-bent on forcing you to upgrade your phone. And with recent efficiency gains and the availability of portable power packs, consumers care less and less about removable batteries. Sure, there are a vocal minority still clamoring for them, but the market, as a whole, no longer bothers.

The market is cutthroat... and if an OEM can improve their position by cutting a feature that adds complexity and manufacturing costs they'll do it in a heartbeat. If it angers a fraction of their user base, so be it... you can't please everyone.

 

[kramer5150]

Living in Palo Alto, 5 minutes from Google headquarters and 30 minutes from Apple in Cupertino I have family and friends both employees and ex-employees of both ecosystems. Design for planed obsolescence is part of the DNA of the industry, and is a big factor in every new product launch. They do not release a design intending for it to be used after a certain number of months... Consumers who do manage it, are the exception. Its not a secret cabal... but its most definitely not something they want consumers to focus their attention on.

You are correct however in the sense that it is purely me who is speculating they try hide this beneath buzz words and catchy marketing... thats just how I see it (shrug).

 

[James Forster]

Battery is for better design. Lets you get thinner, do more.

SD card is because Why Nexus devices have no SD card | Android Central (among other reasons)

What I don't understand is why we can't have both removable batteries AND IP68 water and dust resistance? They figured out to put SIM cards and SD cards in a metal tray that pops out with a SIM ejector. Why couldn't we have the same with a battery tray that pops out, but yet the phone could keep its water resistance? That would be the best of both worlds certainly!