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EU: Smartphones Must Have User-Replaceable Batteries by 2027
(www.pcmag.com)
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this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2023
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Technology
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I do not like this, at all.
I don’t want to replace my battery. I want my battery to last. 5 years, at least.
This legislation will achieve the opposite and paves the way for batteries that are just crap and need replacement after 12 or 18 months. The companies have no motivation to make better batteries, protect them better against premature degradation.
Sounds good, but generates a lot of trash.
The hell are you talking about? Every phone with a user replaceable battery that I have had is still alive and well today. And some of them are over 10 years old. Their batteries are obviously no longer in top shape, but they are still usable. And because they are user replaceable, if it dies, I will just put in a new one.
Even if you are right. Just vote with your wallet. A battery that degenerates too quickly will just kill the sales of the phone it is in.
Also cameras have replaceable batteries. Most live for longer than a modern phone.
And lastly, for fun, let's say your battery died too quickly because the manufacturer is a dipstick. Just buy a different brand of battery!
Imagine how much easier repairs will be and how much lower the amount of e-waste will be when you can just replace your battery without any tools or knowledge of how to disassemble a smartphone.
Repairability is always something to strive towards. Remember when laptop manufacturers said that a user repairable laptop would be too cumbersome and thick and look bad etc. Then Framework came along and made a wonderful laptop that is user repairable and has tons of cool features. And once you want to upgrade to a more modern CPU, you can upgrade the motherboard and upcycle the older one into a media center, a mini pc or whatever else people have already thought up.
Also it will be fun to watch giant phone companies throw a fit about how this will stifle innovation (ahem Apple). Phones right now require tons of tools to open safely and successfully, because they are glued shut. The excuse they provide is that it is required for water resistance. And yet there were phones with a user replaceable battery and water resistance. And nowadays even phones without water resistance are glued shut.
And the manufacturers call this innovation apparently. That is sad. And it is sad that you believe them.
So, if your phones‘ batteries last 10 years - why do you even need a replaceable battery?
That's why the proposal states that if the battery outlasts the lifespan of the product it does not need to be replaceable. Currently, and in the near-mid future, that just won't be the case. Batteries are one of the components that fail the most in any smartphone. A user replaceable battery makes the difference between one part of e-waste and a whole device.
Why not both? 8)