One should be at the bottom one at the top. I understand space on the phone is a premium but a second port would make the phone so much more usable. Wired headphones, flash drives, camera modules, speaker modules, keyboards, even connection to a TV, all could be used while charging. It’s a shame it’s not a thing, USB is extremely versatile port, but you only get one and it’s used for charging half of the time. (I am aware dongles exist)
Oh I agree but it’s obviously easier to waterproof a phone with ports. Besides that ports and buttons are the most common point-of-failure (I’m looking at my kid’s headphones on my desk where the power button was crushed in and my to-do list is to open it up and see if it’s repairable). Honestly my biggest complaint comparing the old Walkmen to modern phones isn’t the buttons and ports (I remember how miserable the buttons were on my 100-meter waterproof Casio watch back in the '80s) but rather the screws. I hate that glue has become a standard tool in electronics assembly. If I never have to do the gamble of the “hot enough to loosen the sealant but not to hot to damage it” dance with a heat-gun again it will be too soon.