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The EU’s fight for user-replaceable smartphone batteries

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Re: The EU’s fight for user-replaceable smartphone batteries

#171

Post by Levitz »

superkuh wrote: post #97
ekianjo wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> used a phone there are almost no smartphones where you can easily replace the battery these days.

But there are options. And instead of having people chose themselves to pick these options and refuse to buy terrible phones the EU is instead saying it will use the force of government violence against other people so that only phones of their desired non-shittiness are sold there. I really don't thinking bringing violence into this situation is called for. The EU is showing is an implicit assumption that people can…

The people, themselves, are the ones electing EU officials and passing these regulations.

Re: The EU’s fight for user-replaceable smartphone batteries

#172

Post by klipt »

jacquesm wrote: post #157
sroussey wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So a communist phone for the lower class? That’s the not-nice way of saying the same thing. I’m not sure if I am for or against that without more thought.

I'm still on a dumb phone and that's because I think spending $800 on a phone is ridiculous. And it's not like I can't afford it.

An iPhone SE is half that. A budget Android half again. Both completely usable, just won't replace your mirrorless camera just yet.

Re: The EU’s fight for user-replaceable smartphone batteries

#173

Post by Levitz »

veave wrote: post #35
onli wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disagree. First, the devices with removable batteries are exceedingly rare right now. They also often enough are niche products. Second, it is not reasonable to expect every consumer to always think about what is right, and not instead to follow what marketing tells him to buy. This is exactly what regulations are good for and historically have solved.

Interesting argument against democracy that you have in there - we should go back to monarchy. After all, it is not reasonable to expect every citizen to think about what is right, since instead they follow propaganda.

When a chosen official makes a law that the citizens have to abide by, that's democracy and not its opposite.

Re: The EU’s fight for user-replaceable smartphone batteries

#174

Post by scarface_74 »

Barrin92 wrote: post #161
scarface_74 wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t this the ultimate “let them eat cake” argument? There are many people in the world who can’t afford anything but the cheapest phone.

Those people don't live in the EU. And anyhow the higher cost of the phone are balanced out by the increased longevity and support of the device. Lifetime cost may very well be lower when people end up replacing their phones less frequently and just have to swap a battery.

Has the EU also made poverty illegal?

Re: The EU’s fight for user-replaceable smartphone batteries

#175

Post by scarface_74 »

crote wrote: post #150
scarface_74 wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But basically I think phones have now reached a place like laptops and desktops where HW capabilities are stable, and there's no good reason for devices to be obsolete in 5 years any more. Unless you care about your phone working as a phone. 2G was discontinued years ago, 3G is rapidly being dropped by the carriers and how much longer before 4G is discontinued? > streamlining the Android update process? (To Google'…

> Unless you care about your phone working as a phone Most of that is a chicken-and-egg problem. 3G was dropped because very few phones were still using it, and you could not run 3G on the same frequency as 4G/5G. If phones lasted longer, more people would've remained on 3G, so they would not have dropped it. Furthermore, 4G and 5G can share the same equipment and frequency due to Dynamic Spectrum Sharing, so there i…

3G was dropped because the same frequency could better used for 4G. Unless you somehow found a way to get around the laws of physics.

Re: The EU’s fight for user-replaceable smartphone batteries

#176

Post by algas »

f6v wrote: post #118
progfix wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why change the device design to make battery user-replaceable when I can bring it to the repair shop? You'd rather go to a repair shop and pay a service fee for something that you can probably do in a couple of minutes at home?

I think that making battery replaceable by user will affect the phone design. I had a ton of first-wave Android devices back in the day. I don’t remember carrying an extra battery with me. Maybe someone did, but how many of total users? Another point is that making a phone water-resistant is likely not trivial when you can take the whole back panel away. My point is: are these dramatic changes worth it when the batte…

Yeah, the waterproofing concerns me. Neither of the examples they brought up in the article had ip67 water resistance, which I consider a bare minimum after water damaging too many cheap phones. The best phones are more water resistant than that. As a meche, you'll always get a better water seal with glue than with screws or snaps. I can see this being a real issue.

Re: The EU’s fight for user-replaceable smartphone batteries

#178

Post by jeroenhd »

forty wrote: post #162
systemtest wrote: post #12

It is interesting that the EU only wants to regulate markets that they are not participating in. They don't make smartphone anymore so any regulations isn't hurting them. It would be admirable if they held the same standard for vehicles, including brands from the EU.

I'd consider the being the buying side of a market as "participating" in that market. Vehicles are definitely regulated in Europe (see that story with Volkswagen, an EU brand, cheating the regulation as an example [1]) [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandal EDIT: I realize this started in the US but EU countries also went after VW and other EU brands after that

While car companies obviously need to follow regulations, those regulations are quite lax compared to the USA.

We didn't have as big an emissions scandal in Europe because the European Commission knew about the manipulation as early as in 2010 but didn't act on it.

When it comes to regulation in the car industry, I can't help but feel like the car manufacturers are the ones writing the law. They'll gladly make the safety technology they're already building into every car mandatory to get rid of foreign competition, but when emissions come up, progress slows down all of the sudden.

This stuff happens everywhere regulation applies, though. I distinctly remember an absurd article shared here on HN that detailed how over in the USA there was a conspiracy by Big Pasta to alter regulations in such a way that would prevent European brands from competing, for example.

Re: The EU’s fight for user-replaceable smartphone batteries

#179

Post by sroussey »

jacquesm wrote: post #157
sroussey wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So a communist phone for the lower class? That’s the not-nice way of saying the same thing. I’m not sure if I am for or against that without more thought.

I'm still on a dumb phone and that's because I think spending $800 on a phone is ridiculous. And it's not like I can't afford it.

I spend money where I spend time: phone, chair, monitor, mattress.

I rarely drive so my car is 19 years old.

I use my phone daily (right now!) so I have the newest one.

Re: The EU’s fight for user-replaceable smartphone batteries

#180

Post by scotty79 »

seba_dos1 wrote: post #2

I have never used a phone (nor a laptop) where the battery wasn't easily replaceable and to be honest I can't really imagine using one. Batteries can (and do) go bad and start expanding. Using a device where the battery isn't easily accessible feels absolutely distressing.

The only device I've ever seen firsthand that had its battery swollen was a Macbook. Battery was glued of course so replacement wasn't totally easy.
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