zlacker

>>skille+(OP)
I feel like the elephant in the room is that there's no phone battery that's going to stay useful in anywhere close to that time frame, and replacing phone batteries is usually a losing proposition. I've tried, several times. Fake, low-quality batteries are rampant (usually degrading within weeks), and genuine ones are prohibitively expensive -- usually a significant fraction of the cost of a new phone.

>>wheels+B7
I replaced the batteries in my mom's iPhone and dad's Motorola at about the same time last year. I agree it should be easier to do, but it's definitely not a losing proposition. They both turned out very well and cost < $20 each.

I'd love a return to the old snap-fit plastic cases. Besides the ease of battery replacement, those phones seemed much more durable. Maybe because there was something that gave way on impact? I remember watching in horror as the plastic cover of an old LG shot under the display shelving at Home Depot at approximately the same speed the phone hit the concrete floor. I never used a case with one of those phones, nor did I ever crack a screen. It was tricky digging that cover out from under the shelving, however.

>>alamor+ri
When you refer to snap-fit plastic cases being more durable, I presume you're not talking about water and dust resistance.

>>tshadd+en
The ideal design is to have a "dry" and "wet" side where you put the parts that need servicing on the wet side and the parts that don't on the dry side (to the extent possible). Specifically, you want the battery and the charging port on the wet side since those the two most likely to break. Those can then connect via metal pins/pads to the dry side which has the soc and all the expensive stuff that actually needs to stay dry.

>>adgjls+XD
What is the point of that? You drop phone in toilet and it stops working because the battery circuits are damaged, or the charging port is damaged. It might be cheaper to fix that way.

Phones currently can be dropped in the toilet with zero damage. It is a real benefit to have waterproofing. I would prefer waterproofing over easily replacing battery that happens rarely.

>>ianbur+mU
So far, I've only ever replaced smartphones because they stopped getting software support or had a battery failure. Never dropped lost one to water damage. Never cracked a screen or otherwise broke one physically.

Unless I forgot one, I think I'm on my 10th mobile phone in total since the late 1990s, so averaging just under 3 years per phone. And I think the interval was shorter in the feature phone days and longer in the last 12 years or so where I'm now on my 4th smartphone.

Maybe it's because I learned to be careful with my phones before smartphones existed, back when dropping it might mean the back cover, battery, and main body flying in different directions. As a result, I'm also the kind of person who might drop his phone/wallet/passport into ziplock bags if I was heading outside with a chance of significant rain...