I don’t even get why a removable backplate is necessary when the battery is a ‘once every 2 years’ replacement. Why would I want my phone’s entire design to be compromised for a replacement that my phone will probably only see twice, maybe thrice?

Plus, hot-swappable batteries would carry the risk of people replacing batteries and just tossing away the spare like garbage. At least now, the procedure is restricted to businesses and people who probably have enough sense to recycle the battery.