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European Union votes to bring back replaceable phone batteries

techspot.com

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Re: European Union votes to bring back replaceable phone batteries

#351

Post by layer8 »

lozenge wrote: post #84

I followed through to the link and I don't think it actually creates a hard requirement for replaceable phone batteries. There's also a clear exception for rinseable devices, I guess they mean shavers and toothbrushes, but potentially phones could come under it as well.

The exception is for “appliance specifically designed to operate primarily in an environment that is regularly subject to splashing water, water streams or water immersion, and that are intended to be washable or rinseable”.

I don’t think that phones can count as being specifically designed to operate primarily in such environments, unless it’s specifically an underwater phone or similar.

Re: European Union votes to bring back replaceable phone batteries

#352

Post by ragebol »

jntvjnvutnuvt wrote: post #138
malermeister wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How are any of them bad so far?

Having cookies message popup on every website you visit is a good thing?

The choice given by gdpr is, roughly, either: no tracking OR do track but ask for consent.

Those websites doing the cookie walls should have taken the hint to simply not do tracking. Instead, they chose to be annoying.

Re: European Union votes to bring back replaceable phone batteries

#353

Post by vel0city »

astrange wrote: post #331
vel0city wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I replaced my iPhone 6 because it was slow, not because battery was bad iPhone slowness can go hand in hand with batteries going bad, especially in the iPhone 6 days. Apple phones will limit peak performance when it detects the battery voltage can't handle it without too much of a voltage drop. From what I understand its now an opt-out setting, but for most of the iPhone 6's life it wasn't an option.

If you opt out of it your phone will suddenly turn off, which is definitely not an improvement over being slow. Having the opt-out is nonsense and an example of bad regulation. This isn't the only reason an old phone would be slow though, batteries are not the only consumable component in a phone.

For sure. I've had devices slow down from storage wearing out as well.

Re: European Union votes to bring back replaceable phone batteries

#354

Post by layer8 »

Havoc wrote: post #101

Thank you EU. On apple devices specifically I've found battery life to be the showstopper. ifruits all the way back to 7 if not longer are still very usable....but that would be a 7 year old battery. Most lithiums start to fade after 2 years.

You can easily have an iPhone battery replaced. The regulation just guarantees that you’ll be able to do it yourself rather than having to use a professional service.

Re: European Union votes to bring back replaceable phone batteries

#355

Post by forty »

unglaublich wrote: post #7

The problem is not really the battery anymore, it's the software mainly. It's all closed source and is often deprecated before the hardware is dead. Then the manufacturer makes it hard to unlock bootloaders; keeps drivers closed source and effectively bricks the device. For recurring sales are the backbone of modern economy so we must force obsolescence. Why would you want to replace a battery in a useless device? Pl…

If this is a priority for you, you could vote with your wallet and purchase a fairphone next time your current phone dies. They provide fairly long software support and always had replaceable batteries.

Re: European Union votes to bring back replaceable phone batteries

#356

Post by wongarsu »

dbg31415 wrote: post #345
wongarsu wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Either a port that's compatible with USB-C charging but has otherwise different pins or electrical characteristics (just like how a USB-A port has 4 pins in USB 2 but 8 pins in USB 3, but is still compatible). Or you just add a second port.

Ugly to have 2 ports.

Before we standardized on micro USB, lots of phones had ports easily three times the width of USB-C. We were ok with that back then, so why would two USB-C sized ports next to each other be so bad? In return, all your gizmos and chargers continue to work in the transition period.

Or, just make the new port a barrel connector like a headphone jack, just with more segments. Bonus points if you can plug in an actual headphone and it works. Nobody seemed to have a problem with a headphone jack next to their USB port.

Re: European Union votes to bring back replaceable phone batteries

#358

Post by hedora »

unglaublich wrote: post #7

The problem is not really the battery anymore, it's the software mainly. It's all closed source and is often deprecated before the hardware is dead. Then the manufacturer makes it hard to unlock bootloaders; keeps drivers closed source and effectively bricks the device. For recurring sales are the backbone of modern economy so we must force obsolescence. Why would you want to replace a battery in a useless device? Pl…

Drivers / firmware aren't quite the right solution. They're tied to obsolete android, so they'd still be useless.

They should have to provide documentation for every IP block in the device, source code for any drivers, and the ability to unlock the bootloader.

This would make it easier for people to back-port modern android / iOS, or just run linux on old devices.

Re: European Union votes to bring back replaceable phone batteries

#359

Post by bmicraft »

eterevsky wrote: post #37
smn1234 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd much rather be able to swap a charged battery for the drained one in my phone especially in such circumstances as when I'm in a foreign country and dependent on my phone (for e.g. safety, to get around) and there's not a iPhone cable or charge point around. It seems like a no brainer, certainly from a consumer benefit perspective. Using batteries as a mechanism for hardware upgrades is ridiculous, instead of the…

If a battery lasts a couple of days, I would much rather my phone were waterproof than be able to swap the battery. Having a power bank solves the problem of discharged phone for me, and anyway I almost never have to use it. Being able to drop your phone in the water and pick it up still working is far more valuable to me.

Galaxy S5 had both and at 8.1mm/0.31in was thinner than phones are now. I don't see why I should have to choose 9 years later

Re: European Union votes to bring back replaceable phone batteries

#360

Post by malermeister »

refurb wrote: post #339
malermeister wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think many companies would be able to take a 20% overnight drop in sales without it causing some major issues.

But the adjustment is not without cost itself. Is the cost of a complete redesign > lost sales in EU? Then don't do the redesign.

The redesign is a one-time cost. Lost sales in the EU will be ongoing until it happens.
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