Oh google cared. They had interviews where they assured the interviewers that modern phones had plenty of space on board, and they didn't need sd cards any more. And followed up with comments about os issues.
Bottom line the decision makers at google are out of touch with reality. Much like their stances on ensuring their apps will work if their is no internet. They live in a world that is always full 5g connected, so obviously everyone does. Trying to use their music apps after "downloading" the music makes me very upset.
I mean, I bought my window ac at least 10 years ago, the only upkeep is cleaning the filter. no issues. I bought a house with an AC from the 70s or 80s in the wall, also nothing but washing the filters. Sure I'm using electricity, but I wouldn't call that upkeep.