I'm happy to pay a reasonable amount to replace a failing rechargeable battery. If it's 20 or 30 bucks to get another three years out of a pair of wireless headphones, okay. I suspect that with standardized cells (perhaps a few dozen sizes? certainly more than the gamut of A/AA/AAA/C/D etc cells we currently have in the consumerverse, because device form factors vary widely) they would be cheaper.

But having to essentially defeat an end-user-hostile industrial design should be strongly discouraged.

I can dream.