once the battery in my cell phone finally dies, the whole phone is essentially garbage

I don’t get this. I understand they aren’t user replaceable but surely you can get it replaced? Given how good batteries are, they easily last 2-3 years. iPhones are supported for 5-6 years so you only ever need one replacement

Getting my iPhone battery replaced has typically cost about $75, not all that different from a decade ago spending $35 for a user replaceable battery for a flip phone

One major difference now is that at least iOS gives me a good measurement of battery health so I can make data driven decision