people buy a new phone often enough nowadays that battery wear is not as much of an issue

battery wear is part of the reason people trash their otherwise working phones. People buying phones more often is a symptom of not having right to repair.

Also, buying an extra battery and charger meant you could carry a fully charged battery in your pocket and if you were out hiking or something, you could just swap batteries instead of needing a power bank and a whole bunch of charging time.