New EU legislation can bring back user-replaceable batteries

20 December 2022
The provisional agreement covers everything from phones, through electric scooters to EV batteries and will require recycling and free collection of old batteries.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • wYI
  • 22 Dec 2022

Now this will be a nice move. I mean Manufacturers are starting to not include chargers in the box so its having easily removable/replaceable batteries is a good compromise for only having a phone in the box.

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    • AnonD-1058210
    • 39y
    • 22 Dec 2022

    Narazumono, 21 Dec 2022I hope they pass this in the US as well so Apple can shut d... moreNo chance apples heads will explode.. usb + battery change I don't think so

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • qNG
      • 22 Dec 2022

      Hallellujah if it becomes law! This can't happen soon enough.

        Nokia (or HMD) can always make a comeback if they offered removable batteries for their flagships and they had the longest battery life over everyone. Longer than iPhone 13 Pro Max.

        Nokia can regain their reputation again as a phone maker that is built to last. Bring back removable plates while they're at it. We would only need to upgrade our phones every 5 to 10 years.

          Rosso, 20 Dec 2022Or, for SD card support, alternatively offer higher minimum... moreCloud storage is less secure and if you don't have any data left or no data connection is useless. Cloud storage is no substitute for micro SD card support

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • mFd
            • 21 Dec 2022

            Anonymous, 21 Dec 2022I love how completely ignorant people like you thinks they ... moreThe old school solution for expandable storage today and outdated headphone jacks and MicroSD cards are TWO *SEPARATE* ISSUES. How can you not have at least that much common sense??

              • S
              • Sin
              • 0Rf
              • 21 Dec 2022

              Am all for user removable battery's on smartphones

              Mandatory removable battery's and replacement battery's sold by the manufacturers

              Really can't wait see this good law get put in place


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                • Anonym
                • J1}
                • 21 Dec 2022

                Anonymous, 21 Dec 2022Problem isn't having non-replaceable batteries, but ra... moreThis, so much this! We need parts available and (if possible) schematics for some repairs.
                I don't expect regular users to do repairs that need schematics, but having then available is what enables cost-effective repairs by pretty much any reputable professional -- thus, benefiting all end-users and being generally great for the environment/reducing e-waste.

                We need education and higher civics. Most people change their phones because they felt like it, not because the hardware failed or reaches EoL. When it fails, they need to know repair is an option. Replaceable batteries is the politician's popular easy fix that fails to address the underlying issues: (1) where will people source the replacement, (2) what about everything else that also fails in the phone, (3) if people do not care to take their phone until EoL, why not create laws that enable a sustainable ecosystem of recyclers that bring those viable equipment back to life into the secondary market.

                Food for thought, feel free to downvote all you want.

                  Anonymous, 21 Dec 2022The EU has a population of 450 million, not 0.3 billion. Th... moreExpensive, not complicated.
                  And if you bothered to scroll a page or two, you'd see I referred to potential customers.
                  Babies, homeless and very poor are not potential customers in foreseeable future for companies.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • m}B
                    • 21 Dec 2022

                    David, 21 Dec 2022I agree, lots of 3rd party batteries are good quality and s... moreStrongly disagree. Very difficult to come by a non-OEM battery that performs at a higher mAh level and hold up over time.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • m}B
                      • 21 Dec 2022

                      Anonymous, 21 Dec 2022Problem isn't having non-replaceable batteries, but ra... moreObviously has to be newly manufactured and preferably sold by a reputable seller.

                      Have tried an unused 7 y/o phone which seemed to work fine, really couldn't tell if the battery had degraded. Storage clearly wasn't an issue, but maybe it's a different story if the battery has not been installed - am no engineer so don't how this electronics work.

                        Qimchi, 21 Dec 2022I like this. Personally, I don't mind using heat and a... moreI liked LG's approach with the G5 by sliding the bottom bezel
                        Only problem is this can't work with smaller bezels which is why LG dropped this design next year with the G6 having smaller bezels
                        A workaround this could be by making the phone thick enough so they can add a sliding tray at the bottom for the battery to come out but nobody likes thick phones so that's out of the question
                        For phones with a plastic back this isn't an issue as they can go back to the old days of popping the back cover but for glass backs, it will be quite the trouble
                        All of these workarounds will bring some nasty compromises that will surely piss people off

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • m}B
                          • 21 Dec 2022

                          Anonymous, 21 Dec 2022They'd rather make mandatory 10 years of security upda... moreYes, obviously only Google, Samsung and Oneplus owners will benefit. But I guess more manufacturers will follow suit in order to not lose too many market shares.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • m}B
                            • 21 Dec 2022

                            Anonym, 21 Dec 2022They already are "user-replaceable," who is the u... moreAlso depends the model. Some can be tricky if you, for instance, have to go through the screen.

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                              • Anonym
                              • J1}
                              • 21 Dec 2022

                              Anonymous, 21 Dec 2022Really? I am not sure you are from the same planet. User re... moreNever had any trouble replacing the (few) batteries that needed it. I didn't pay anyone to do it, did it myself. It's called skills, you should try acquire them too.

                                No 3.5mm jack no buy, 20 Dec 2022We demand the following to be mandatory on all phones all o... moreI don't know why those common features we used to have in the past now become we "begging" them to bring it back. We have rights to have it! (Unless it is very low end phone, like Sony Ericsson T303 which does not support expanable storage), but now even the low end phone have those features now, what an irony.

                                They took it away without any sense.

                                  I like this. Personally, I don't mind using heat and a suction cup to open the back cover to take out a battery but when the battery is glued in tight and it's hard to remove, it's a pain. Redmi phones have tabs you can pull to lift the battery which is much better than the forbidden cheese. However, I found the best way for water resistant phone with a glued back to have an easily replaceable battery would be how the Xperia Z2 did it and that's a battery within a plastic frame that screws into the phone. Cons are: maybe slightly lower capacity especially with a dual battery design but it is so easy to replace without glue.

                                  Another suggestion is to make the back cover a metal framed glass back cover. The metal allows the cover to be screwed instead of glued, provides extra rigidity, and since only the frame of the back cover is metal, signals can still pass through the glass.

                                  OR just have the phone be designed like the iPod Mini where the internals can slide from the top or bottom of the phone and it can have the loop design of the Xperia XA2. The problem with this design would be when the batteries expand and you're trying to slide the internals out of the metal body/cover. Alternatively no sliding, but the screws are placed on the top and bottom of the phone (like the bottom of every iPhone) so the back cover can be removed.

                                    Cowidster, 21 Dec 2022The mandatory to allow third party app store is good in the... moreNo gurateed safet within regular app stores either

                                      Narazumono, 21 Dec 2022I hope they pass this in the US as well so Apple can shut d... moreWho is Xiaomi going to copy then? Without Apple, Xiaomi would be nothing

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                                        • Cowidster
                                        • xhm
                                        • 21 Dec 2022

                                        The mandatory to allow third party app store is good in theory for combating monopoly, but at the same time also dangerous for the security concern, for there will be no scrutiny to which app is safe or fraudulent to consumer.
                                        The replaceable battery is very good move I think. As for me, for the many small unimportant gadget, I always choose or buy the devices with standard AA or AAA battery, never chose the rechargeable lithium ion device, for if it doesn't used for long time, the battery will die and the device will be trashed.

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