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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

#871

Post by clownpenis_fart »

frm88 wrote: post #758
bko wrote: post #660

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that pretty much no phones have a replaceable battery says something. And it doesn't mean that all manufacturers are somehow colluding with each. The market is very competitive and pretty much every manufacturer decided the trade offs are not worth the benefit. If Samsung or Xiaomi or Google could sell you a better phone with a replaceable battery, they would. But everyone came to the conclusion that the tra…

Fairphone exists. The batteries are easily replaceable, they have a video on their website. It's no thicker than many other phones, runs on non Google OS, maybe just check it out. I have one and am totally satisfied with it. https://www.fairphone.com/the-fairphone-gen-6-e-operating-sy...

[dead]

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

#872

Post by lwhi »

KingMachiavelli wrote: post #725
rythie wrote: post #584

It’s been long enough that people of forgotten what’s it’s like. Cameras still have replaceable batteries, there are several benefits: I can have two (or more) batteries, if it runs out I just change it. I don’t need walk around with a USB battery pack and cable hanging off the device preventing me from using it properly. I can put the battery on charge somewhere and leave it, even if not completely secure, because j…

I don't think this is where peak battery tech ends up. At current capacities, batteries are becoming genuinely dangerous, and faster charging only amplifies the risk. Charging high-capacity cells outside a temperature-controlled charger is risky, and even reputable chargers shouldn't be left unattended — many workplaces ban it outright (it only takes one fire to make that policy). Phone batteries are the worst of it:…

Ultimately the main benefit obtained from not allowing battery replacement, is an increase in sales of newer models.

While your reasoning has _some_ merit, it reads as an apologia for the status quo .. rather than an example of why we should prevent easy battery replacement.

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

#873

Post by throwawaymobule »

gregoriol wrote: post #852
ymolodtsov wrote: post #850

The EU with its mama energy again. I use 15 Pro. I don't like the new aluminium iPhones much. So I just went it to Apple service center and had the battery replaced. It costs just 90 euros and I now have a brand new phone, basically. I very much prefer my phone to be thinner, water resistant, and have a larger battery compared to being able to do it myself.

The law is not about you, but about everyone: 1) Apple doesn't have service centers everywhere: some countries/cities/small towns don't have them 2) Apple doesn't provide service for older devices 3) making it easier doesn't mean you'll be able to swap them live as we did in the 90s, but it means you could do it at home with a reasonable set of tools instead of sending the device to some shop that would need to unglu…

Out of the 27 EU countries, there are only apple stores in 8 of them.

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

#874

Post by throwawaymobule »

PunchyHamster wrote: post #366
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...

Some manufacturers in the industry are already standardising on one or two designs since a few years ago.

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

#875

Post by hdgvhicv »

numpad0 wrote: post #794
8note wrote: post #735

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> e.g a phone with a glued battery can have 5000mAh but the same phone with a more durable battery connector can only be 4500mAh. alternatively, i can trade more bulk for more battery. if its got a connector, why cant i put a bigger batter in the slot that sticks out?

That brings back memories! Yes, many devices before iPhone had normalized internal batteries indeed had aftermarket extended batteries. They would come with matching bulged back covers to fit the significantly oversized battery.

My early iPhones had external battery cases, which even when attached (when travelling a long distance) were smaller than modern iPhones in the important dimensions.

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

#876

Post by clownpenis_fart »

eru wrote: post #731
heavyset_go wrote: post #714

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If it's such a superior product that people want despite the tradeoffs, why don't they just fund a company to create such a phone? Why doesn't anyone? Because legislation is direct and gives better results to consumers. Thank god the EU standardized on USB-C. There's no reason to jump through extra hoops and rely on the whims of investors to do something good for the people.

What does any deity have to do with it? Btw, has anyone done a post mortem analysis of that mandate? I wonder if it delivered what it promised. I doubt it: All they saved consumers from is buying a 5 dollar replacement cable. The EU certainly hasn't done such an assessment yet. The predicted savings of a quarter billion Euro come mostly from unbundling chargers, which they could have forced down customers throats wit…

Unbundling charger without standardizing the connectors would result in every manufacturer using their own proprietary bespoke charging connectors. Which is exactly what the situation was before usb was made mandatory.

How much cool aid do you have to drink to genuinely believe the corporate argument that using proprietary connectors is "innovative"?

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

#877

Post by fortyseven »

techpression wrote: post #800
chromacity wrote: post #796

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Phones don't have removable batteries mostly because of the desire to make the device as thin as possible. The battery is just a delicate, flexible pouch that can easily be damaged and catch fire if removed from the phone and carried around. To make it safe, you'd need to add a hard shell, which would probably make the device 2 mm thicker or so. As to why we want to make phones as thin as possible... I don't know, bu…

It’s also very hard to make them resistant to water and dust, I really like that I can wash my iPhone in the sink and don’t have to worry about it getting wet in general. This is a lot harder to achieve with battery doors, especially if they need to be as big as a phone back.

You... wash your phone in the sink?

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

#878

Post by golem14 »

numpad0 wrote: post #794
8note wrote: post #735

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> e.g a phone with a glued battery can have 5000mAh but the same phone with a more durable battery connector can only be 4500mAh. alternatively, i can trade more bulk for more battery. if its got a connector, why cant i put a bigger batter in the slot that sticks out?

That brings back memories! Yes, many devices before iPhone had normalized internal batteries indeed had aftermarket extended batteries. They would come with matching bulged back covers to fit the significantly oversized battery.

That's true even today for HAM radio handhelds. There is a cottage industry of ever larger snap on batteries for Baofengs and others. Very handy.

Random thought: Maybe Apple should use radioisotope batteries to never have to change them, ever. I jest.

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

#879

Post by rldjbpin »

phones are indeed becoming more repairable, and the legislation is working upto an extent.

on the other hand, mandating easier to repair components is ineffective if the manufacturer does not support the parts sale or use parts otherwise widely available in the market.

this goes beyond for other consumer electronics. in the world of laptops, which are generally more repairable, i've had my own experience with a mid-range one from lenovo, the largest vendor worldwide. [1]

the laptop was from the covid-era and one of the refresh of their popular lineup which has seen minimal changes under the hood. despite that, when i had to replace its fans and battery, i had to look for third-party sellers for the components. they are quite easy to replace but as a regular consumer it is tricky to find the correct parts and not overspend on them.

maybe with the new silicon carbide batteries, we could have a "nokia bl-5c" moment, without the counterfeit explody part.

[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/267018/global-market-sha...

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

#880

Post by ssl-3 »

jpfromlondon wrote: post #856
heavyset_go wrote: post #714

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If it's such a superior product that people want despite the tradeoffs, why don't they just fund a company to create such a phone? Why doesn't anyone? Because legislation is direct and gives better results to consumers. Thank god the EU standardized on USB-C. There's no reason to jump through extra hoops and rely on the whims of investors to do something good for the people.

>Thank god the EU standardized on USB-C Short term thinking, if anyone invents a significantly better connector the eu will lag a decade while they clear the red tape, it hampers innovation inside the bloc people who might otherwise be concocting their own improved connector.

The same Europeans that were miles ahead with their GSM standard?

We can compare that to the US. Here, we stayed stuck with power-thirsty analog phones for many years before bouncing through a litany of mutually-incompatible digital non-standards...and finally landed on the ~same actual-standards that Europe adopted.

I think they'll be OK. (I think the rest of us will be OK, too.)

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