Smartphones (and to some extent laptops too) have evolved to be an end product in themselves, instead of being tools to communicate and get work done.

Until this (unfortunate) nature of smartphone changes, it is unlikely that the product transforms into the category of 'consumer durables' where people would simply buy it and then forget about buying a new one for years, until the existing one starts giving problems, even if that means more than 10 years of usage.

Hardware used on smartphones are maturing in terms of the experience they provide. Every year the newer iteration is marketed to be x% more efficient, y% more powerful, etc. All those improvements are seen only on paper.

My Samsung Galaxy Note 2 that I purchased in 2012 was giving me 4 to 5 hours of SOT (initially). My Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra that I purchased almost 10 years later in 2022 is also giving me just about 4 to 5 hours of SOT. This despite the CPU, GPU and other components becoming more powerful, more power efficient with each passing year. One can argue that the quality of apps, games, display, etc. are significantly better than what they used to be 10 years back, and they come at the cost of drawing more power. Still, these do not even remotely explain the numeric gains reported by tech companies. Or in other words, the numbers reported are manipulated and would be true only in very specific conditions, which are far from real life usage.

While many users complained about batteries being non-removable, RAM and other components being non-replaceable/ repairable/ upgradeable, etc., the direction taken by manufacturers seem to suggest that the market doesn't care as much about these factors.

Miniaturization and sealing components to the motherboard that result in slightly smaller form factor are not only profitable for the OEMs, but also seem to be acceptable to the market. This actually comes at the cost of damaging the environment, a complete opposite of what OEMs claim.

Just as Type-C has become mandatory, should there be laws that make modularity/ repairability/ component replaceability a must for products? This will eventually transform this product into the 'consumer durables' category, which will not only save the environment, but also make lives much better and healthier.

I think this is unlikely to happen unless a new (life changing) product category is developed and people start perceiving smartphones (and laptops) as mere tools to communicate and get work done. Currently, the amount of time people spend on smartphones doing useless stuff is a criminal waste of time that can otherwise be spent in doing productive things, that will not only make their own lives better, but also contribute to improving the environment and the economy that would improve everyone's lives.