We’re Paying More For Features We Already Had

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There was a time when buying a new phone meant getting everything you needed in the box. The phone, a charger, earphones, maybe even a protective case. The phone itself had a headphone jack, expandable storage via microSD card, and a battery you could swap out when it died. You owned the thing, completely.

Now, you’re lucky if you get a charging cable. And that phone you just paid a premium for probably lacks half the features that were standard a decade ago. Somehow, we’ve been convinced this is progress.

The Great Feature Purge

Let’s start with the most obvious one. The headphone jack. When it first disappeared from flagship phones around 2016, the industry reacted with shock. Some manufacturers ran ads mocking the decision. Others made jokes. Everyone acted horrified that anyone would dare remove such a basic feature.

Then, one by one, they all did the exact same thing. By 2025, if you want a flagship phone with a 3.5mm headphone jack, your options are incredibly limited. The excuse was always the same. We need the internal space for other components. Wireless is the future. Nobody uses wired headphones anymore.

Except plenty of people do, and the “internal space” argument falls apart when budget phones costing a fraction of flagship prices still manage to include headphone jacks without any problems.

But we know that selling wireless earbuds is incredibly profitable. Remove the jack, create the problem, sell the solution.

Storage You Can’t Expand

Then there’s expandable storage. MicroSD card slots used to be standard on Android phones. You could buy a phone with 64GB of storage, slot in a cheap memory card, and suddenly you had 256GB or more. It was simple, affordable, and gave users control.

Now, most flagship phones have completely removed the option. Want more storage? You’ll need to buy the more expensive model. The jump from 128GB to 256GB often costs an extra RM400-500, even though the actual hardware cost difference is minimal.

Just a few years ago, you could have bought the base model and added your own storage for a fraction of that price. Now you’re stuck with whatever the manufacturer decided to offer, at whatever price they decided to charge.

The justification is that cloud storage is the future. Internal storage is faster. People don’t need physical storage anymore. Except cloud storage requires constant internet connectivity, eats through your data plan, and often comes with monthly subscription fees. And when you shoot 4K videos or take 50-megapixel photos, that “plenty of storage” fills up remarkably quickly.

Noticed the pattern yet? Remove the feature, force users toward more expensive options or paid subscriptions, profit.

Perhaps the most brazen example is the removal of charging bricks from phone boxes. The practice started around 2020, with manufacturers claiming it was about environmental sustainability. Smaller boxes, less waste, saving the planet, and so on.

The environmental argument might hold water if phone prices had dropped accordingly. They didn’t. Phones cost the same or more, despite coming with fewer accessories. You’re paying the same amount, or more, for objectively less.

And if you actually need a charger, official fast chargers from major brands typically cost RM80-100. These are mandatory purchases for many users, especially first-time smartphone buyers or anyone whose old charger isn’t compatible with the new phone’s faster charging speeds.

The companies saved money on manufacturing and shipping. They maintained or increased prices. They created a new revenue stream selling chargers separately. And they got praised for being environmentally conscious.

It’s brilliant, really, if you ignore the part where consumers are getting fleeced.

When Budget Phones Have “Premium” Features

Many of these removed features still exist, just not in flagship phones. If you buy a budget phone costing RM600-800, you’ll often get a headphone jack, expandable storage, and a charger in the box.

Entry-level and mid-range phones from various manufacturers still include features that have been deemed “unnecessary” for phones costing three or four times as much.

This makes it abundantly clear that removing these features isn’t about technical limitations or advancing technology. It’s about market segmentation and profit maximisation. Flagship buyers are seen as less price-sensitive and more likely to buy into the ecosystem of accessories and subscriptions.

Budget buyers, meanwhile, still get practical features because they’re more likely to walk away if those features are missing. The feature isn’t too expensive to include. You’re just considered wealthy enough to pay extra for it.

Why We Accept This

The brilliant thing, from a manufacturer’s perspective, is how gradually it all happened. Features weren’t removed all at once. They disappeared one by one, each removal justified with plausible-sounding reasoning and accompanied by a new product to fill the gap.

No headphone jack? Here are wireless earbuds. No expandable storage? Here’s cloud storage. No charger? Here’s a proprietary fast charger. No removable battery? Here’s a trade-in programme.

Each change was presented as inevitable technological progress. And because our previous phones still worked, the removed features didn’t feel immediately painful. By the time you needed them, the industry had moved on, and you had no choice but to adapt.

The mainstream market is still dominated by companies that have decided users should own less, pay more, and accept it as progress.

Will consumers ever push back and demand actual value for our money instead of being told what value means? Will we insist on owning our devices instead of renting them piecemeal through subscriptions and ecosystem lock-in?

Because right now, we’re paying premium prices for incomplete products, then paying again to complete them. We’re buying thousand-ringgit phones that lack features which were standard a decade ago. We’re accepting planned obsolescence disguised as innovation.

You don’t have to accept it, but you probably will. We all have.

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