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EU Exempts Apple Watch and AirPods from Battery Removal Requirements

mjtsai.com

61–70 of 72 posts

Re: EU Exempts Apple Watch and AirPods from Battery Removal Requirements

#61
post #33

Electric toothbrushes are exempt? Why? We have several for our kids, with removable batteries from Oral-B. All are years old and still waterproof. And with that amount of voltage, where can there _ever_ be a "safety issue"? That is quackery! Sounds more like somebody lobbied successfully.

Why would a company choose to produce an inferior product? My guess is there is a trade of that's worth it on the product side. That's why you can't buy a compelling phone w a replaceable battery anywhere. Its an incredibly competitive market. If there was a design that worked and tradeoffs made sense it works certainly exist and do well since who wouldn't like it. I just believe that the fact it doesn't exist tells…

Most phones quietly lose their ip68 when battery or screen is replaced

Re: EU Exempts Apple Watch and AirPods from Battery Removal Requirements

#62
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would a company choose to produce an inferior product? My guess is there is a trade of that's worth it on the product side. That's why you can't buy a compelling phone w a replaceable battery anywhere. Its an incredibly competitive market. If there was a design that worked and tradeoffs made sense it works certainly exist and do well since who wouldn't like it. I just believe that the fact it doesn't exist tells…

At least with phone batteries, to make them removable, means removing some capacity. Lots of phones squeeze as much cell into every nook and cranny as they can

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Re: EU Exempts Apple Watch and AirPods from Battery Removal Requirements

#63
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is another option here - the company may refuse to offer a replaceable battery because it would eat into the market itself by increasing the lifetime of the products. And different companies may have agreed, in secret or just tacitly, to perpetuate this. Especially as replaceable batteries are not THAT high on the list of features consumers actually look for - it's not like Samsung could eat Apple's lunch by in…

Why wouldn't one of the hundreds and probably thousands of companies that can make phones at scale not jump in? These are all pretty much off the shelf parts. Why did Google even attempt Project Ara? Why did Fairphone or Teracube never produce a compelling product? If anyone could make replaceable batteries work, even at a premium, it would be a big hit. I remember replaceable batteries and they were incredible. The…

Uh, Fairphone does have compelling products?

Re: EU Exempts Apple Watch and AirPods from Battery Removal Requirements

#64
post #63
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why wouldn't one of the hundreds and probably thousands of companies that can make phones at scale not jump in? These are all pretty much off the shelf parts. Why did Google even attempt Project Ara? Why did Fairphone or Teracube never produce a compelling product? If anyone could make replaceable batteries work, even at a premium, it would be a big hit. I remember replaceable batteries and they were incredible. The…

Uh, Fairphone does have compelling products?

The Fairphone 6 is about double the price of a comparable phone like Motorola Edge 60 Fusion. All these branded "fair" or "open" products are just not competitive and 99% of people aren't willing to pay such a big premium for what's essentially a concept

https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=13955&idPhone...

Re: EU Exempts Apple Watch and AirPods from Battery Removal Requirements

#65
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is another option here - the company may refuse to offer a replaceable battery because it would eat into the market itself by increasing the lifetime of the products. And different companies may have agreed, in secret or just tacitly, to perpetuate this. Especially as replaceable batteries are not THAT high on the list of features consumers actually look for - it's not like Samsung could eat Apple's lunch by in…

Why wouldn't one of the hundreds and probably thousands of companies that can make phones at scale not jump in? These are all pretty much off the shelf parts. Why did Google even attempt Project Ara? Why did Fairphone or Teracube never produce a compelling product? If anyone could make replaceable batteries work, even at a premium, it would be a big hit. I remember replaceable batteries and they were incredible. The…

What thousands of companies? The market for flagship smartphones has fewer and fewer players every year - it's mostly Apple, Samsung, Google, OnePlus, and Xiaomi now, I think. Even Sony has been drastically dropping in popularity.

Re: EU Exempts Apple Watch and AirPods from Battery Removal Requirements

#67
post #64
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh, Fairphone does have compelling products?

The Fairphone 6 is about double the price of a comparable phone like Motorola Edge 60 Fusion. All these branded "fair" or "open" products are just not competitive and 99% of people aren't willing to pay such a big premium for what's essentially a concept https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=13955&idPhone...

Comparable or not, the Fairphone 6 costs less than half of my iPhone. I don't think the price is an issue.

Re: EU Exempts Apple Watch and AirPods from Battery Removal Requirements

#68
post #5
post #2

anyone know how you can build a water-resistant phone with a removable battery?

Water resistant is a lower threshold than waterproof, the latter being harder. Many phones are water resistant with manufacturers guidance as to time and depth of water it can survive, eg iPhones https://support.apple.com/en-us/108039 As far as I’m aware, after you go to Apple or Samsung for a official battery replacement, there is no advisory issued to say the repair affected the previous level of water resistance

In practice, repairs affect the water resistance, and Apple Store employees will confirm that to you. They just don't want to say so in the product description as it would raise doubts.

Re: EU Exempts Apple Watch and AirPods from Battery Removal Requirements

#69
post #64
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh, Fairphone does have compelling products?

The Fairphone 6 is about double the price of a comparable phone like Motorola Edge 60 Fusion. All these branded "fair" or "open" products are just not competitive and 99% of people aren't willing to pay such a big premium for what's essentially a concept https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=13955&idPhone...

For many people it's still compelling and not "a concept". If you're looking for the cheapest phone with most performant CPU, RAM etc. (relative to price), then you're probably not target audience.

Re: EU Exempts Apple Watch and AirPods from Battery Removal Requirements

#70

Electric toothbrushes are exempt? Why? We have several for our kids, with removable batteries from Oral-B. All are years old and still waterproof. And with that amount of voltage, where can there _ever_ be a "safety issue"? That is quackery! Sounds more like somebody lobbied successfully.

Because they're specifically engineered to be safe? I can see someone taking open a toothbrush, slapping a generic cell in there and then it going into water and having a fun time

There are 2 AAs (1,2V * 2500mA, rechargeable) inside.

Where is the danger? Even if I would put the wrong ones inside, from an RC race car (3,7V). I wouldn't even come close to dangerous wattage.

And since when does every device need to be idiot safe? I have a drill, a vacuum cleaner, a saw, a kitchen aid, bottles of isopropanol ... a lot of things are more dangerous.

And the vacuum cleaner the most surprisingly dangerous one, if one of your child decides to vacuum liquids from his rooms floor -- been there: vacuum destroyed, child survived. So, does that mean we only ever are allowed to buy models that can cope with wet and dry?

Oh, please. There's always an opportunity to be more paranoid I guess.

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