I have a Nexus 4 which is experiencing battery swelling. Apparently that&#x27;s a common problem for them.<p>I don&#x27;t think, though, that it&#x27;s an example of &quot;planned obsolescence&quot;... I suspect that phone performance multiple years out just isn&#x27;t a design consideration, overlooked in a way similar to what was going on in the stylized &quot;real estate prices can&#x27;t drop&quot; belief model.<p>When it&#x27;s not considered, it&#x27;s pretty likely to be terrible.
When people start keeping their phones for several years, they&#x27;ll get upset about aging issues, and graceful aging will become a design consideration.