Did it though? Or did the manufacturers choose that for us by choosing to market phones based on millimeters of measurement and grams of weight and one piece glass backs that most people cover up with a case anyway.
This seems kind of like the car manufacturers saying that they are only meeting demand when they sell large SUV's and trucks, while running ads showing SUV's on dirt trails touting the freedom that a large SUV/truck gives drivers, even though most high end SUV's and trucks won't go any farther offroad than a gravel parking lot at a winery.
If phone manufacturers started competing on environmental costs of their phones instead of being the smallest/lightest, then maybe replaceable batteries would come back.
It's only natural to want something comfortable to use which you can see clearly on and which doesn't break your nose when it falls on your face in bed. A minority (me included) would prefer smaller phones with a massive battery, no matter the thickness - and yet I can't stop marvelling at how cool my new big, light, thin phone is. If my phone didn't break in 3 years I'll think about buying a battery on eBay and replace it (or get it done by someone, if I'm not capable of doing it).
SUVs are appealing because they're big and cost a lot of money. It's often a display of superiority and wealth. Those people would drive a tank if they could.
People are not buying SUVs or phones because of advertising, but because of their intrinsic qualities (whether physical or social).
Uh, that and they're useful? The only thing comparable for the combo of carrying capacity, people seating, and towing of your average SUV is a full size van. Which drives like shit, has terrible visibility side and rear, and is often even more of a break-in target. Oh, and it costs the same or more as that SUV that's easy to park, easy to drive, fits all your kids or family or bikes and luggage and can still haul a light trailer.
The modern SUV is the evolution of the station wagon. Some of the early models were just wealth signals, I can kind of agree with that, but generally there's no better option for someone who regularly hauls 4+ people and a bunch of crap everywhere.
Not really? The most popular non-pickup in the US (The Rav4) only seats 4 and has a 1500 lb towing capacity. Most station wagons can do that (for example the V90 can tow between 1650 and 3700 lb). The Sienna, which is a minivan, can tow 3500 lbs and carry 8 people
And the Sienna has 50% more cargo capacity than a Ford Expedition unless you take out all the seats, then they have about the same cargo capacity.
https://www.truedelta.com/Toyota-Sienna-vs-Ford-Expedition-s...
The Sienna is available in AWD, and has a hybrid drivetrain.
It's biggest disadvantage over an SUV is ground clearance and towing capacity. As you said, the Sienna can tow 3500 lbs, but the Expedition can tow 6000-9000 lbs depending on drivetrain. Well, I take that back, the biggest disadvantage of a minivan compared to an SUV is that the minivan is a minivan.
I'm sure you can find another outlier here and there, but in general, SUV's get a lot of hate but are generally great choices for safety, ease of use, and capability.
Replacing a battery is technically possible still, it just requires a ton of patience, a heat gun, maybe a suction cup, maybe a razor knife. And even then you run the risk of breaking the back glass in the process(been there, done that).
I don't think we need to go back to being able to hot swap batteries on the fly, but surely we can come up with something everyday people can realistically do at home.
After you remove the cover you still have to remove a few pieces of the top layer of components, as described in guides like this iPhone 13 Pro battery replacement one: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone+13+Pro+Battery+Replaceme...
Now, say you tried a DIY repair and you broke the glass, that'd be a different case of suckage, but that doesn't really mean that suddenly batteries aren't replaceable. There could be a discussion around ease of replacement but there is ease of manufacture and sealing properties to consider as well.
On top of that there are a number of peripherals to remove before even getting to the battery. To me that seems extremely difficult.
The market has chosen against that. What you're talking about is forcing people to accept your personal preference, by law, because your design preference didn't win in the market.
Personally, I oppose that.