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EU mandates replaceable batteries by 2027 (2023)

environment.ec.europa.eu

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Re: EU mandates replaceable batteries by 2027 (2023)

#111

Post by progfix »

nephihaha wrote: post #90
mentalgear wrote: post #13

The EU is displaying exactly the kind of political leadership we need in this topic: pro-consumer, pro-environment, and firmly against planned obsolescence. Removable batteries were the industry standard in the early days of mobile phones, and it worked perfectly. We only lost that standard when Apple’s 'walled garden' mindset infected the rest of the industry. The amount of avoidable e-waste generated since then is…

I have such mixed feelings about the EU right now. This battery initiative is definitely a good idea, but I am not onboard with their constant attempts at censorship.

What do you mean exactly with censorship?

Re: EU mandates replaceable batteries by 2027 (2023)

#112

Post by mcprwklzpq »

Good news. My phone would have to live another couple of years, and the next one i buy would stay with me for a decade.

Just 10 years ago you could detach back of the smartphone with a nail, then switch the battery in a few seconds yourself. Smartphones even sometimes came with a second spare battery in the box!

Old smartphones were much lighter, smaller and thinner then modern shovel sized bricks with fat batteries. Screens were smaller and so the batteries too.

Phones are boring. They work fine already. I could use my current 3 year old phone another 6 years if it lived through the day without charging.

Re: EU mandates replaceable batteries by 2027 (2023)

#113

Post by vanviegen »

243341286 wrote: post #85
mentalgear wrote: post #13

The EU is displaying exactly the kind of political leadership we need in this topic: pro-consumer, pro-environment, and firmly against planned obsolescence. Removable batteries were the industry standard in the early days of mobile phones, and it worked perfectly. We only lost that standard when Apple’s 'walled garden' mindset infected the rest of the industry. The amount of avoidable e-waste generated since then is…

How do you make a phone with replaceable battery to also be water resistant?

Just tight fitting casing with some rubbery edges, nothing special. Just look at smart phones from ~10 years ago.

Re: EU mandates replaceable batteries by 2027 (2023)

#114

Post by Reason077 »

243341286 wrote: post #85
mentalgear wrote: post #13

The EU is displaying exactly the kind of political leadership we need in this topic: pro-consumer, pro-environment, and firmly against planned obsolescence. Removable batteries were the industry standard in the early days of mobile phones, and it worked perfectly. We only lost that standard when Apple’s 'walled garden' mindset infected the rest of the industry. The amount of avoidable e-waste generated since then is…

How do you make a phone with replaceable battery to also be water resistant?

It’s pretty difficult to do that. iPhones are known to potentially lose some of their water resistance after a battery swap, as it’s hard to guarantee the replaced waterproof seal is as good as the factory one.

The EU battery regulation has exemptions for IP67-rated devices which retain 83% of original battery capacity after 500 charge cycles, which most modern smartphones will qualify for.

Re: EU mandates replaceable batteries by 2027 (2023)

#115

Post by peterfirefly »

vanviegen wrote: post #105
Reason077 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Removable batteries were standard in the early days of mobile phones (and laptops) out of necessity: batteries in those days just weren’t very good. They didn’t last long, took hours to charge, and wore out relatively quickly. You’d carry a spare battery around and swap over when your first one ran out. Now days, there is much less need for that because a charge lasts much longer, and if you do run low you can fast c…

I remember early cell phones (not smart phones, mind you) having weeks of standby time, or something like 20 hours of talk time. These had replaceable batteries. I don't recall people carrying spare batteries being a thing..?

Some of my early phones had spare batteries. They most certainly did NOT have weeks of standby time or 20 hours of talk time. We are talking late 90's.

Later, as phones and batteries got better, the spare batteries became unnecessary. They still degraded fast enough that there was a market for replacement batteries and they could indeed easily be replaced. We are talking things like the Nokia 3310.

Even later, the need for user replaceable batteries pretty much disappeared.

These days, it is entirely gone.

Re: EU mandates replaceable batteries by 2027 (2023)

#116

Post by adrianN »

vanviegen wrote: post #105
Reason077 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Removable batteries were standard in the early days of mobile phones (and laptops) out of necessity: batteries in those days just weren’t very good. They didn’t last long, took hours to charge, and wore out relatively quickly. You’d carry a spare battery around and swap over when your first one ran out. Now days, there is much less need for that because a charge lasts much longer, and if you do run low you can fast c…

I remember early cell phones (not smart phones, mind you) having weeks of standby time, or something like 20 hours of talk time. These had replaceable batteries. I don't recall people carrying spare batteries being a thing..?

You can in fact still buy those kinds of phones and they still have removable batteries.

Re: EU mandates replaceable batteries by 2027 (2023)

#117

Post by Reason077 »

vanviegen wrote: post #105
Reason077 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Removable batteries were standard in the early days of mobile phones (and laptops) out of necessity: batteries in those days just weren’t very good. They didn’t last long, took hours to charge, and wore out relatively quickly. You’d carry a spare battery around and swap over when your first one ran out. Now days, there is much less need for that because a charge lasts much longer, and if you do run low you can fast c…

I remember early cell phones (not smart phones, mind you) having weeks of standby time, or something like 20 hours of talk time. These had replaceable batteries. I don't recall people carrying spare batteries being a thing..?

Standby times were indeed great in those days because those phones weren’t doing very much when they were idle. (Weeks may be an exaggeration, though!)

You might also be misremembering talk times, unless you had a phone with an exceptionally large battery.

A typical device like the Nokia 3210 had 3-4 hours talk time, which is far less than modern smartphones.

Re: EU mandates replaceable batteries by 2027 (2023)

#118

Post by sschueller »

243341286 wrote: post #85
mentalgear wrote: post #13

The EU is displaying exactly the kind of political leadership we need in this topic: pro-consumer, pro-environment, and firmly against planned obsolescence. Removable batteries were the industry standard in the early days of mobile phones, and it worked perfectly. We only lost that standard when Apple’s 'walled garden' mindset infected the rest of the industry. The amount of avoidable e-waste generated since then is…

How do you make a phone with replaceable battery to also be water resistant?

It is doable and with all the amazing achievements this is the thing that is too hard to get working? Also all new foldables are not water proof (yet).

Your MacBook isn't water proof either yet the battery is also permanently glued in. Why?

Re: EU mandates replaceable batteries by 2027 (2023)

#119

Post by sschueller »

Reason077 wrote: post #98
mentalgear wrote: post #13

The EU is displaying exactly the kind of political leadership we need in this topic: pro-consumer, pro-environment, and firmly against planned obsolescence. Removable batteries were the industry standard in the early days of mobile phones, and it worked perfectly. We only lost that standard when Apple’s 'walled garden' mindset infected the rest of the industry. The amount of avoidable e-waste generated since then is…

Removable batteries were standard in the early days of mobile phones (and laptops) out of necessity: batteries in those days just weren’t very good. They didn’t last long, took hours to charge, and wore out relatively quickly. You’d carry a spare battery around and swap over when your first one ran out. Now days, there is much less need for that because a charge lasts much longer, and if you do run low you can fast c…

Not true, they may have not been as good but the phones also didn't need so much power. I never had to buy a new battery for all the nokias I owned all the way until Nokia the company died.

The phone that had the worst battery was the first iphone, it wasn't water proof either yet the battery was non removable.

Re: EU mandates replaceable batteries by 2027 (2023)

#120

Post by manuelabeledo »

Reason077 wrote: post #98
mentalgear wrote: post #13

The EU is displaying exactly the kind of political leadership we need in this topic: pro-consumer, pro-environment, and firmly against planned obsolescence. Removable batteries were the industry standard in the early days of mobile phones, and it worked perfectly. We only lost that standard when Apple’s 'walled garden' mindset infected the rest of the industry. The amount of avoidable e-waste generated since then is…

Removable batteries were standard in the early days of mobile phones (and laptops) out of necessity: batteries in those days just weren’t very good. They didn’t last long, took hours to charge, and wore out relatively quickly. You’d carry a spare battery around and swap over when your first one ran out. Now days, there is much less need for that because a charge lasts much longer, and if you do run low you can fast c…

A battery being replaceable has little to do with longevity or energy density.
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