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

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

#361

Post by riversflow »

leptons wrote: post #325
IshKebab wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, but also battery life has significantly improved over the last decade. Every phone I or my friends have replaced recently has been because the screen has broken. I would put good money on this being true for most people. I think if the EU really wanted to reduce phone waste they'd make it easier or cheaper to fix screens. Still, this doesn't seem like a terrible move. I bet you can make it relatively easy to…

I'm really unsure how broken screens happen. Don't you have a protective case on your phone? I've had smartphones for over 20 years, and have never broken a screen. Am I just lucky? More careful? I drop my phones too, but have never broken the screen. The only thing that ever failed on any phone I've owned has been the battery.

I’m not crazy like some people, but I’ve broken screens many times and every time it has been in a case, one time it was in a case I specifically bought for extra protection.

Half of my screen breaks have been from getting out of my car with my phone in my lap and gravel on the ground.

Another way I’ve broken screens is from my phone falling out of my pocket and onto rocks/concrete. That has happened twice.

And the final way has been from getting smashed in my pocket. I slipped while scrambling some rocks and my phone(in a case I bought for this long backpacking trip) got smashed on my hip, another time I was running around at my friend’s house at night and ran into a wheel barrow, smashing it on my thigh.

Never had a battery fail.

A note: My current iPhone 16 pro is built like a tank, and the glass is truly extraordinary.

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

#362

Post by PunchyHamster »

nonethewiser wrote: post #149
OutOfHere wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People shouldn't have to go to a special store or buy special tools requiring special skills to change a battery.

Engage with the content of his comment instead of resorting to ad hominem. He's right - the market wants embedded batteries, although perhaps not directly. Embedded batteries have improved price, battery capacity, water proofing, size, and strength. If the consumer really wanted a removable battery and all that that entails then there would be more phones that offered that. The reality is people misjudge what all tha…

Incorrect. Replaceable battery is a feature that decreases sales. Why would you implement it when battery being weak will cause substantial amount of users to replace phone instead of paying for service to replace the battery ?

If the feature isn't expected and it decrease sales, why would manufacturer put it in ?

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

#363

Post by radley »

emtel wrote: post #258

One of the most frustrating things about HN is that people seem so unaware of how idiosyncratic their preferences are. If you stood on the street corner and asked every passerby what they would change about their phone, I think you would be there all day before someone said "I wish I could replace the battery". It's okay to have idiosyncratic preferences (I certainly do), but people should recognize that this law wil…

> If you stood on the street corner and asked every passerby what they would change about their phone, I think you would be there all day before someone said "I wish I could replace the battery".

But what if you asked the right question, "what is the biggest problem with your phone?"

Most would answer, "the battery dies too soon. It doesn't last all day like it used to."

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

#364

Post by Jeremy1026 »

Scarblac wrote: post #347
IshKebab wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, but also battery life has significantly improved over the last decade. Every phone I or my friends have replaced recently has been because the screen has broken. I would put good money on this being true for most people. I think if the EU really wanted to reduce phone waste they'd make it easier or cheaper to fix screens. Still, this doesn't seem like a terrible move. I bet you can make it relatively easy to…

I had to replace my previous phone because my banking app dropped support for that Android version, and was going to stop working. The hardware was fine. (I always buy phones in the cheapest tier, so that happens sooner)

Would it be cheaper in the long run to buy a newer phone less often? Get a "this year flagship" and use it for 5 years rather than a couple year old model and use it for 2-3?

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

#365

Post by bombcar »

wincy wrote: post #255
bombcar wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're taking "commercially available" to mean things like a screwdriver - not a $1000 phone disassembly machine.

With all due respect, I can buy a kit on iFixit for $55 for an iPhone 16 pro max, including the battery . I’ve replaced my iPhone battery before, aside from the glue being a bit sticky so needing a heat gun it isn’t that difficult.

Which is fine - but the law is the law and will look at what Apple (et al) provide and document.

(Thought Apple's $99 to do the repair themselves isn't terribly bad all things considered; and likely part of their attempt to forestall complaints and litigations).

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

#366

Post by PunchyHamster »

cmos wrote: post #142

What if we regulate batteries even more? i.e. what if, in some magical perfect world, the world get's together and agrees on batteries for phones like how we agree on AA,AAA,D,C batteries? Even more though.. a standard connector, a standard comms bus, a variety of sizes, and they were designed for reuse as efficiently as possible. Now we can scale up volume, swap them out, be free to purchase from a different manufac…

Phones would be hard because manufacturers want to fill every square mm of it, but we can start with power tools batteries...

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

#367

Post by jmyeet »

emtel wrote: post #258

One of the most frustrating things about HN is that people seem so unaware of how idiosyncratic their preferences are. If you stood on the street corner and asked every passerby what they would change about their phone, I think you would be there all day before someone said "I wish I could replace the battery". It's okay to have idiosyncratic preferences (I certainly do), but people should recognize that this law wil…

My own hesitation with HM echo chamberification is federation. Nobody cares. And until you can point to a concrete benefit to end users, you should stop and think about why you’re pushing it this hard.

But I don’t think this is the case with phone batteries. I’ve had many conversations with friends and family that came down to replace the battery or upgrade the phone.

I feel the same way about soldered on CPUs, RAM and SSDs in laptops and other computers. The benefits of doing this are marginal at best. We all know the real reason is forced obsolescence.

We all know this is why battery replacement is hard too.

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

#369

Post by PunchyHamster »

bombcar wrote: post #129
close04 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple has no chance to claim their batteries can have 80% capacity after 1000 cycles seeing how they never achieved this so far. Lying about it puts them in a world of mass recalls and fraud investigations.

Depends on how "cycle" is defined - I'm sure they can finagle it so "any charge added to the battery" counts as a cycle. As a datapoint my iPhone reports 522 cycles and 89% max - from march 2024. I do use the "limit charging to 80%" feature which I suspect may become mandatory before 2027 ...

Charging to 80% significantly decreases the wear. Your battery would be way lower if you charged to 100%

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

#370

Post by asdfman123 »

emtel wrote: post #258

One of the most frustrating things about HN is that people seem so unaware of how idiosyncratic their preferences are. If you stood on the street corner and asked every passerby what they would change about their phone, I think you would be there all day before someone said "I wish I could replace the battery". It's okay to have idiosyncratic preferences (I certainly do), but people should recognize that this law wil…

I think most people who are capable of figuring out how buying a new phone impacts their financial goals would be in favor of this
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