thank you EU.....removable batteries are back

[ocnbrze]

thanks to a new law from the EU we might see removable batteries back on phones world wide!!!!!

thoughts?

 

[AugieTN]

@Hadron mentioned this in another post. I'm really happy they are doing it. They did give them a lot of time to change over

 

[olbriar]

Too long for my liking but at least it will happen.

 

[ocnbrze]

Too long for my liking but at least it will happen.

New EU battery law could mean EOL for low-cost smartphones

Apple might have wriggle room for the iPhone when it comes to new EU laws to make smartphone batteries user replaceable — but the new regulations almost certainly spell the end of the cheapest devices.

www.computerworld.com

can you read? is this too long for you?

 

[AugieTN]

.....The big change is that manufacturers must put easy-to-replace batteries inside smartphones and tablets by 2027.....

Hadron had mentioned 3 to 4 years.

 

[leo3487]

At past ages that was normal
I guess would be not an expensive change, if no try to make removable batteries than fit at thin smartphones
Can return to thickness of old phones

 

[Hadron]

I'm amused by the bit in the article that claims that iPhones use higher quality batteries that last longer, because this isn't my experience.

However the claims in the article that exceptions had been added, which I'd not read previously, is disturbing. We know that there's no reason you can't make a waterproof device that has a replaceable battery, and the idea that a manufacturer can claim that their battery has some minimum lifetime and so doesn't need to be replaceable runs completely contrary to one of the purposes of the legislation. I hope this isn't true, because it's exactly the sort of BS that corporations would lobby for (i.e. good for them, bad for everyone).

 

[Hadron]

At past ages that was normal
I guess would be not an expensive change, if no try to make removable batteries than fit at thin smartphones
Can return to thickness of old phones

Actually making a battery user replaceable is not the same as returning to the old style (backs that can be removed without tools, rigid battery packs that you can carry a spare of in your pocket). I would say that a back that was held on by a couple of small screws or a series of clips, and any type of battery that is not glued in, would be "user replaceable". In fact a few years ago I replaced the battery in an iPhone 5 for someone and that was how it worked: 2 screws on the base released tabs that held the back on, lever it up (easy to do as the back was popping off due to a swollen battery!), detach the battery connector, attach the new one and reattach the back. There are people who would be afraid to undo a couple of screws or unplug a connector, but I would say that something like that would be reasonably described as "user replaceable" (but the moment you use glue to attach the back, meaning heat guns to remove it and no warranty once you do so, it would fail to meet that standard).

If you want an existing version of the sort of thing I'm thinking of, the Fairphone 4 has a battery pack of the old style (rigid, just slot it in, no connector to attach, so more user-friendly) but the back is attached by a set of clips (presumably to ensure better sealing) and you need to use a plectrum or similar to undo them. So swapping batteries takes a minute or so with a simple tool rather than a few seconds with no tools, and is intended to be done when the battery degrades rather than when you are running low on charge.

 

[leo3487]

Actually making a battery user replaceable is not the same as returning to the old style (backs that can be removed without tools, rigid battery packs that you can carry a spare of in your pocket). I would say that a back that was held on by a couple of small screws or a series of clips, and any type of battery that is not glued in, would be "user replaceable". In fact a few years ago I replaced the battery in an iPhone 5 for someone and that was how it worked: 2 screws on the base released tabs that held the back on, lever it up (easy to do as the back was popping off due to a swollen battery!), detach the battery connector, attach the new one and reattach the back. There are people who would be afraid to undo a couple of screws or unplug a connector, but I would say that something like that would be reasonably described as "user replaceable" (but the moment you use glue to attach the back, meaning heat guns to remove it and no warranty once you do so, it would fail to meet that standard).

Are you serious?
User replaceable battery is like used at Nokia 1100, 3300, 5800, etc
Of course any battery can be replaceable with specific tools. In fact at Argentina, official and unofficial services can do it (but is not that you as usar can buy a battery), so is similar procedure lke to replace other components of the phone, like if need replace camera or screen, or flex

 

[Hadron]

I am serious in that I read reports of the legislation and its intended purpose and a battery that can be replaced by the owner without the use of special tools would fit what I read - there was nothing that said "no tools at all", and nothing in the intention of the legislation that said anything about carrying spare batteries and swapping on the go, just that the owner should be able to replace batteries at any point in the device's life. So by my reading there was no requirement that they had the sort of swappability that you describe.

I fact the reason I posted that was precisely because I figured people would see the word "replaceable" and jump to the conclusion that you did. I was attempting to head off a possible misapprehension. As we say here, "don't shoot the messenger".

And there would still be a difference: most current devices require heat guns, glue removal etc to open them, which is beyond most people's capabilities (and certainly most people's comfort). The result is that they need to pay someone else to do the replacement, which adds a barrier to doing so. Reducing it to the level where most people can do it themselves would be a significant difference, even if it isn't what you want.