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The battery is a user changeable part on most mid-range and low end phones.

The point of this predatory pricing tactic is to force owners of phones with sub-$200 in value to upgrade, rather than potentially waste half (or more) of the phone's value on replacing the battery.

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Which carrier sold Android phones - where most users by their phones - have user replaceable batteries?

The Moto G is usually cited as one of the best mid range phone and it doesn’t have user replaceable batteries. I don’t think most of the cheap Walmart phones have user replaceable batteries.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 and Moto E5 Play (both free under 24 month commitment on T-Mobile) have removable batteries.

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