I'm going to side with Apple on this one. Transistors are basically free and ports are expensive and unreliable. I'm happy they've been moving to eSIMs. I'd be fine if my next iPhone only supported wireless charging.
I've certainly have had ports fail, but software is worse, and bluetooth is a lot of software. My spouse's phone was able to connect to our van for some time, then a phone software update broke it, and it took 3 months for them to push a new one that fixed it. If it was a wired 4-pin connection for handsfree audio and either port failed, it would probably take less time to get it fixed. (Yes, a 4-pin connection probably leaves out features from Bluetooth, but no agency to fix problems is worse)
I've yet to have a SIM fail on me, and I don't see why I would want to lose out on the convenience of removing the SIM from old phone, and inserting it into the new one. Moving an eSIM requires interaction with the carrier as I understand it.
If they weren't burning cash on AI, they'd be burning it on something equally useless. Smartphones have been more or less feature-complete for years now.
Then why is it only Samsung that has Dex, a feature they don't even advertise, that lets you use a phone as a computer? Pixel is just getting HDMI out with 8. Every android rom can easily be bundled with code for a chromebook style desktop.
What about and IR camera as one of the 3 cameras? I don't need a telephoto camera with 5x zoom on my smartphone. IR camera is super useful to see things like pets in the dark, see hot or cold spots in the house, e.t.c
What about integrated sub ghz 2 way radios? In busy areas like concerts or areas without cell reception, the phone is next to useless.
What about better lights? I don't want to burn battery with the flash led. Simple lower power led option means I can actually use the light for extended period of time.
What about laser distance measurment? Often times I find myself measuring distance. Can't do it accurately with camera to as high resolution as you can with a laser.
What about low power wifi hotspot mode? Just run the phone in hotspot mode, without taking up battery for screen or background processes.
There are also things they can do in software. For example, old phones are next to useless. There should be no reason why I can't install a linux distro on it, have it boot directly to that, without having to jump through hoops or deal with android, and have a mini server at home.
No ports is better.