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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

#551
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…

A quick google will show you’re relying too much on your own views of what people desire for phone improvements. This law will lead to much needed changes and improvements in a mature and arguably stale market.

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

#552

I have never used a phone without easily replaceable battery (where "easily" means no screwdriver necessary, just pop the backcover and pull the battery out). It just happened this way, but I think I'd refuse to buy one anyway, as aside of obvious repairability and maintainability issues having the battery sealed in is also a big factor that makes dropping the phone so dangerous. When I drop my phone, the battery is…

This is not what the laws is about, though: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47835530

It's replaceable without special tools, heating, solvents. It can easily feature a screw or a million other solutions.

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

#553
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…

you act like making batteries disposable will fundamentally alter the usability of the phone.

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

#554

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and then pay $99 to have Apple professionally install a new battery for me in 3-4 years In 3-4 years yes, but how about in 10-15 years? Apple will refuse to take your money then. > Apple will send you the entire toolkit if you want complete with a return label. Which is malicious compliance. They should allow the friendly neighborhood repair shop to purchase a toolkit so you can choose who does the repairs for you.

> Apple will refuse to take your money then. They still offer battery service for iPhone 6. > They should allow the friendly neighborhood repair shop to purchase a toolkit They do. My friendly neighborhood repair shop a couple miles away has the same tools and parts Apple uses themselves at their Store.

Since when? Last time i read about the Apple "DIY" kit it was only a loan and only for ... doing it yourself.

But then I haven't broken a phone in a while so I haven't really talked to my friendly neighborhood repair shop. That only because my daughter finally grew up, they remembered me at the shop back when she was young :)

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

#555
post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your experience is not at all what I see out there. Most people I know only get new phones because their battery will no longer get them through the day. They hate having to set up a new phone when their old one is totally fine other than the battery. For the people I know that do upgrade their phones regularly, they typically want to give their old phone to someone who would love a usable phone, but can't afford a n…

> Most people I know only get new phones because their battery will no longer get them through the day I don't disagree with this, but I also think it's because the battery often dies around the time most people would consider upgrading anyway. The battery isn't the only reason people upgrade, it's just a forcing factor. If batteries normally last 3-5 years, I don't think we're going to start seeing most people keep…

> If batteries normally last 3-5 years, I don't think we're going to start seeing most people keep their phones for 7-10 years.

I think they will eventually. People hang on to their computers for longer and longer because old ones are just good enough. Phones are getting to that same stage in their evolution where they stopped evolving by leaps and bounds between generations. A seven year old phone like an iPhone 11 for example is perfectly adequate for a lot of people.

There are two real blockers from keeping a phone for so long, official software support and battery life. If some big manufacturers solved the first with extended support cycles, which is an expensive one, why not solve the second too?

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

#556

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't speak to the experience with Android but Apple offers both in-store battery replacement or Mail-in battery replacement for $70-120 which to me seems very reasonable. Could it be cheaper? Sure, maybe I guess? But $70-120 is a lot less than a new phone. And this way we don't need to compromise the shell of the phone with seams and things that can fail. https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-replacement

> And this way we don't need to compromise the shell of the phone with seams and things that can fail The ancients managed to design around replaceable batteries, I don't think these techniques have been entirely lost to time.

The ancients also designed ways to carry humans without gas or electricity, but I don't really want to regress to those techniques.

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

#557
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".

Not my experience at all. The (few) non-tech people I've talked to about phones soon getting batteries again like it. People believe the idea that non-removable batteries are a conspiracy by the phone companies to sell you more phones the same way cartels manipulated the lightbulb market (Phoebus cartel).

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

#558
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think most (all?) would already comply. What laptop do you see as not having a user replacable battery? Even MacBook can be swapped out pretty easily [1]. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgTon2jqI-A

MacBooks are not easy at all. I did it twice and it's an annoying, dangerous mess (danger of tearing the battery open). Apple won't even bother with it. If you want an "official job", they will just replace the whole top shell including the keyboard, because they can't be bothered to remove the glue. And of course it's expensive because of that.

8 minutes to complete, using only a screw driver and credit card, once every three or four years, is definitely "annoying". But, I'd still say it's also "pretty easy" (I never said "easy"). My reference frame may be different than yours.

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

#559
post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

"instead of resorting to ad hominem" Was this edited out or which part do you mean?

calling him a shill for having a different opinion. just an attack on the person. based on nothing and distracts from the substance of his comment.

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

#560
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 moderate /r/flashlight. Something I've seen a substantial increase in over the past few years is people who are surprised to learn that it's possible to have a built-in charger in combination with a field-replaceable battery. It doesn't take much explaining; it just hadn't occurred to them because the devices they're used to don't work that way.

People don't change batteries in their phones now because they'd need a heat gun and a soldering iron and they'd have even chances of starting a fire, breaking the phone, or succeeding in changing the battery without prior experience using those tools. A shop could do it reliably, but the shop will charge 100€ because it's time-consuming and error-prone. A 3-5 year old phone is often not worth 100€.

When a battery change costs 25€ and takes 5 minutes, people will do it all the time even if they don't know that today.

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