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All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027

theolivepress.es

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Re: All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027

#31
post #22
post #5

Damn, recently I had a phone with a battery that wasn’t properly glued and it would turn off when shaken. I hope this doesn’t become the norm from now on.

Never had this issue with several cellphones I had in ye olden times when all cellphones had removable batteries. All it takes is a properly designed connector.

Yeah, none of my Nokias with a removable back cover and battery had that issue. What you realistically might've had was instead that you dropped your phone on the floor and the battery came flying out.

Re: All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027

#32
post #7

I understood that the move to non-replaceable batteries was at least partially driven by water resistance *Edit. Not sure why people are downvoting. I didn't make a positive declaration. HN didn't used to be this way for completely milquetoast comments.

Yes and don't forget consumer preferences. This is Hacker News where they are still clamoring for a "small smartphone" because everything else is too big. Shocker, small phones don't sell. Neither do bulky ones when compared to sleek iPhones.

Re: All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027

#34
post #13
post #7

I understood that the move to non-replaceable batteries was at least partially driven by water resistance *Edit. Not sure why people are downvoting. I didn't make a positive declaration. HN didn't used to be this way for completely milquetoast comments.

Galaxy S5 was IP67-rated (1 metre depth, 30 minutes) and had a user-replaceable back cover / battery Also a notification LED, OLED screen, bezels to pick the device up by, headphone jack, unlockable, a continuous light sensor... peak smartphone, save perhaps for the meager 200 Hz accelerometer refresh rate (modern phones have 500 Hz usually, I have no idea what for but I personally love toying with FFT plots)

If the headphone port flap was perfectly sealed….

Re: All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027

#35
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe. Maybe not. If my local phone and phone accessories shop can do it for little money in 15 minutes then the current calculus changes for a heck of a lot of people.

Isn't that already the case though?

There are a number of phone designs that require special heating apparatus and very careful prying tools to get the back case off. And then extremely careful application of new glue to reassemble. Basically the whole thing is glued together at the factory. Google "phone heating pad for repair" for some examples...

Re: All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027

#36
post #4

If a battery can do 1000 cycles and remain above 80% capacity it is exempt from this, which is exactly what Apple implemented a few years ago. Low cost phones will be most affected.

I was wondering about that. I lost my iPhone 13 mini the other day, did the find my phone beep thing and got a distant beep from my washing machine which was on wash cycle.

Surprisingly the phone was fine and works fine after a brief rinse under the tap. It must be hard to combine that sort of water resistance with easy user changing.

Re: All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027

#37

They (Samsung, Apple, etc.) should never have been allowed to glue it behind the screen. Threaded fasteners and a silicone gasket cover is good enough for 99.999% of the public use-case.

   > is good enough for 99.999% of the public use-case
You know this how, exactly?

Re: All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027

#38
post #27
post #4

If a battery can do 1000 cycles and remain above 80% capacity it is exempt from this, which is exactly what Apple implemented a few years ago. Low cost phones will be most affected.

Wish they'd have implemented it before the iPhone 14 Pro launched. I'm at 624 cycles right now and my phone's gone below 80% fucking ages ago.

> The regulation states that batteries must be removable using ‘commercially available’ tools

I’m pretty sure that’s more or less already the case, so…

Re: All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027

#39
Yikes, I don't live in the EU, but I absolutely don't want this. Maybe I'm mistaken and they could have achieved the same with removable batteries, but my phone is completely waterproof, dustproof, and has survived more than a few hard drops with no case. I would definitely take that over a replaceable battery. Again, I acknowledge they might not be mutually exclusive.

Re: All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027

#40
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that already the case though?

Last time I checked I’d have to leave my phone for a couple of days and the glue factor meant they wouldn’t guarantee it would come back perfectly. My assumption is this might make it a more trivial change.

I don't see what change they can make, at least to an iPhone. The glue is necessary for water resistance.
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