A rapid descent into a locked-down dystopia

The outrage will fade and it will be tolerated.

 

- 2003: Apple iPod with non-replaceable battery. Thankfully roasted by Casey Neistat. Little did the people know back then, this horror would be the norm in mobile phones in little more than over a decade.

- 2007: Apple releases iPhone without replaceable battery or MicroSD support. Back then, the back cover could still be opened with little effort, but in the following years, "little efford" turned into a glue seal. "Unibody", ugh.

- 2010: iPhone 4 introduces "fasionable premium" fragile glass backs to the smartphone world. No technical/practical benefits.

- 2011, 2012: Mass storage access (including for MicroSD) gradually removed from Android by Google and vendors.

- 2013: Sony and HTC jump on non-replaceable battery bandwagon with Xperia Z and HTC One M7.

- 2014: Android 4.4 forcibly disables write access to MicroSD cards for all user-installed apps including file managers "for our protection".

- 2014: Around that time, laptops started having batteries that can not be externally removed, only with screws opening the complete bottom part, which also exposes other parts.

- 2015: Samsung releases Galaxy S6. No MicroSD and no user-replaceable battery. Broken phone? All data gone. Don't like slow charging? Too bad, your battery will die quickly. But hey, it allows for a [slimmer phone](https://www.reddit.com/r/righttorepair/comments/ub01xz/how_often_bothered_me/.compact).

- 2016: Android 6.0 introduces "adopted storage" feature for MicroSD cards, defeating all benefits (modularity, external data recovery, immediate reuse in new device). Thankfully just optional, but I bet my _rse Google would love to have it mandatory.

* 2016 (Android 6.0): Task managing to third-party apps restricted. https://archive.ph/o/Fp9Yd/https://jaredrummler.com/2017/09/13/android-processes/

- 2016: Apple removes 3.5mm headphone plug because it is "old-fasioned" (if "new"/"modern" means less freedom, I prefer "old").

- 2017: LG joins non-replaceable battery bandwagon with their G6 smartphone.

* 2017 (Android 7.0): Read access to USB-On-The-Go devices disabled entirely through the main storage API.

- 2018 (Android 9.0): Granting permissions to apps from outside the Google Play Store (through APK files) requires restarting the app for each permission.

* 2018 (Android 9.0): Call recording disabled for user-installed apps. https://archive.ph/o/Fp9Yd/https://wccftech.com/android-p-will-prevent-background-apps-accessing-microphone/ https://archive.ph/o/Fp9Yd/https://nllapps.com/apps/acr/android9.htm .

- 2019: [scoped storage](https://www.xda-developers.com/android-q-storage-access-framework-scoped-storage/). Certain access requires approval by Google "to protect us".

- May 2019: Malfunction in the Mozilla Firefox "add-on signing" (Microsoft-resembling tyranny that exists "to protect users") forcibly disables all extensions.

- 2019: iPhone 12 locks out "unofficial"/"non-genuine" replacement parts. Operating system refuses to boot upon detection of such.

- 2020: The typical laptop has a non-replaceable battery and no proper full-sized SD card slot, only difficult-to-handle and lower-capacity MicroSD. Also lacks write protection switch. (Mounting as read-only depends on a functioning file system driver, which often does not work: [NTFS](https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/vhpdp3/mount_o_ro_does_not_writeprotect_last_access/.compact), [exFAT](https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/w4w8th/quick_note_exfat_last_access_times_are_also_not/.compact).).

- circa 2020: Xiaomi violates a sacred consumer right by forcing a one-week wait before users are able to unlock the bootloader. Ideally, Xiaomi would be banned like Huawei until they stop this abuse.

- 2021: Galaxy S21 without MicroSD after it was brought back with the S7 in 2016.

- 2021: Windows 11 and TPM ("trusted" platform module). Microsoft: "no, you can't use non-Microsoft operating systems". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcafzHL8iBQ

- 2022: Android 12 restricts battery statistics. https://piunikaweb.com/2021/11/03/android-12-ditched-last-full-charge-battery-usage-stats-shows-past-24hrs/

- 2022: Firefox performeance analysis tool is moved to an online service, meaning it can have downtimes and be deprecated. ("New: Firefox Profiler is now integrated into Developer Tools. […] For a limited time, you can access the original Performance panel via Advanced settings"). What's next?.

- 2022: Android 13 ["patches" a loophole, making third-party file managers less useful](https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/vjrdac/android_13_makes_file_managers_less_useful_by/.compact)

- 2022: Android 13 imposes [API restrictions on "sideloaded" (APK-installed) apps](https://blog.esper.io/android-13-deep-dive/#restricted_settings_appop).

- 2022: First eSIM (euphemSIM)-only iPhone. Non-replaceable SIM cards. As history shows, other vendors will follow.

 

Are we noticing something already?