Current Events > Sweeping new law will force replaceable batteries on smartphones

(+) Yeah! (+)

World Wide Consumer Battery Fest Completion of Phones!

Trumble posted...

Honestly, I don't think this measure is the improvement it makes itself out to be. I can only speak from my own experience, but battery degradation has never been my reason for replacing a phone; while I have noticed it happen on a couple of phones, by the time it became anywhere near a problem, some other factor already justified replacing the phone. I'd much rather see a law requiring software updates to be provided for a longer lifecycle, than this.

Battery degradation is pretty much my #1 reason to replace a phone.

Enclave posted...

Battery degradation is pretty much my #1 reason to replace a phone.

Right?! Adding a new battery is basically like getting a brand new phone. At least to me.

Also I see somebody claiming this is going to hurt water resistance. Yeah, no it won't. We had water resistant phones back in the day that had replaceable batteries and headphone jacks and all that jazz. It's absolutely possible. The real sacrifice is not IP rating, the sacrifice comes in how thin the phone, at least for the consumer. For the manufacturer the real sacrifice is how it makes the phone far more repairable and thus you aren't forced to buy a new phone as often.

Kloe_Rinz posted...

They will be fatter like they used to be since now they need the battery compartment and to design it in such a way it fits together and can be taken apart without tools. It will also feel cheaper and be less robust (imagine dropping your phone 5cm on accident and it just shattering and the battery flying out)

No, my LG G4 was basically the same thickness as my Galaxy A50. And you should always have a case/screen protector on your phone.

Grrrr for me, water resistance is nice, but why is it so important besides dropping in your toilet and on accident or maybe being mister/ms fancy fancy and I want it on well probably yacht or schooner.

Kamil posted...

Grrrr for me, water resistance is nice, but why is it so important besides dropping in your toilet and on accident or maybe being mister/ms fancy fancy and I want it on well probably yacht or schooner.

Some people spill stuff on there phone, some take them in/near the shower or bath, some people like to have them near the pool or wherever they go swimming, doing the dishes, etc.

Definitely not only the toilet or yacht. O.o

Kamil posted...

What is getting me here, is who keeps a phone for two years.......

Maybe because it works just fine and I don't need the newest phone that is the smallest of updates for no reason other than hype. Obvs buying new tech is fun, at times but I still think the PS4 vs the PS4 Pro is almost no difference and the difference b/t a PS4 og and a PS5 does matter ppl do still make games for them both (don't bring up Cyberpunk 2077, that was their all their fault for thinking that game could run on a PS4 should have been PC and next gen only.) Wait I just did.....I was mind hacked!!!

Not sticking up for them but cdprojeckt was originally a PC dev just cancel the damn PS4 release if it was that bad.

My phone is three and a half years old and it still works fine.

Lonestar likes Rumble Roses apparently. Also I am just saying I am never concerned about getting my phone soaked in, lovely lovely water......

Kamil posted...

Lonestar likes Rumble Roses apparently. Also I am just saying I am never concerned about getting my phone soaked in, lovely lovely water......

I've never played it.

I at least admit Candy Canes are a fetish of mine.

Tom_Joad posted...

European Parliament passed a change to a law that will force replaceable batteries on all gadgets, including smartphones.

Way to get my hopes up TC.

The-Apostle posted...

Way to get my hopes up TC.

Typically a major manufacturer like Apple or Samsung isn't going to to want to spend the kind of money on different factories creating the same phone for different markets which is what they'd have to basically do if they actually changed the design between markets.

If a market the size of the EU mandates this? It's highly likely to affect design world wide.

Enclave posted...

Typically a major manufacturer like Apple or Samsung isn't going to to want to spend the kind of money on different factories creating the same phone for different markets which is what they'd have to basically do if they actually changed the design between markets.

If a market the size of the EU mandates this? It's highly likely to affect design world wide.

Ok, cool. Hopefully this becomes standard like the USB-C did. I charge my Google Pixel 6 with the charger my iPad came with sometimes and vice versa as well.

Enclave posted...

If a market the size of the EU mandates this? It's highly likely to affect design world wide.

Unless the extra profit from keeping a planned obsolescence design everywhere else offsets that.

China and India alone have 3 billion mobile phones compared to 474 million in the EU. It makes more sense that theyll just make specific pro-consumer phones for the EU and keep making trash phones to rake in extra profit everywhere else.

Enclave posted...

Typically a major manufacturer like Apple or Samsung isn't going to to want to spend the kind of money on different factories creating the same phone for different markets which is what they'd have to basically do if they actually changed the design between markets.

If a market the size of the EU mandates this? It's highly likely to affect design world wide.

You don't need a different factory to make two versions of a product. You can just have two production lines in the same site. Heck, depending on the design, the final difference between the lines might just mean one extra station for one of the versions.

Tom_Joad posted...

Without adhesives, OEMs from Apple to Google to Samsung will need to drastically change how they design phones. The glass sandwich design method would almost certainly need to stop unless companies could devise a way to keep the parts connected without adhesives.

so a glass sandwich with screws and rubber gaskets.

Anyone have a recommendation about who to talk to if I have an erection longer than 4 hours?

It'll mean people will have to be extra careful with their phones while being around water.

YellowSUV posted...

The Galaxy S5 was water resistant AND had a user replaceable battery accessed simply by opening up the phone.

Speaking as a Galaxy S5 owner, the water resistance came from cheap annoying flaps over the ports that easily broke off and clips that would warp after removing the back a few times.

Kloe_Rinz posted...

It will also feel cheaper and be less robust (imagine dropping your phone 5cm on accident and it just s***tering and the battery flying out)

That has never happened.

008Zulu posted...

It'll mean people will have to be extra careful with their phones while being around water.

Why wouldn't you be?

Imagining the old style where the entire back of the phone is detachable wouldnt work of course. But a slide in mechanism similar to a sim car slot could be done. But then youd need a smaller batter for that style to work.

I feel there could be some trade offs but well see.

dave_is_slick posted...

That has never happened.

You clearly never used old motorollas. Dont censor my words when they arent even swear words either

I was just looking at my phone and thinking it needed another potential point of failure.

Enclave posted...

Battery degradation is pretty much my #1 reason to replace a phone.

This.

It's a right pain in the ass to upgrade to a new phone.

itachi15243 posted...

Some people spill stuff on there phone, some take them in/near the shower or bath, some people like to have them near the pool or wherever they go swimming, doing the dishes, etc.

Definitely not only the toilet or yacht. O.o

Who the fuck uses a phone while in the shower?!?

JFC...

Kloe_Rinz posted...

You clearly never used old motorollas. Dont censor my words when they arent even swear words either

I did and dropping it 5 cm absolutely did not throw the battery out

Kloe_Rinz posted...

Dont censor my words when they arent even swear words either

They have the profanity filter turned on and shatter contains the past tense of shit. No reason to feel targeted.

Kai_Laguna posted...

Good, I hate having to buy a new phone when the battery starts going to crap. So much better back when you could just pop the back off and swp batteries.

Phone companies force you to buy new phones by not supporting it with updates after like 2-5 years

AnsestralRecall posted...

This will end up with worse phones overall. They should have just mandated that manufacturers had to make replacements and the tools to replace them available for purchase.

This not only results in worse batteries overall, but outright kills water resistance.

To change the battery in my phone I would have to remove my fucking display, and go from the front. And then I would have to rebuild and reglue everything perfectly again.

No replacement or tools would help me with that, even if they were free.

Seriously, take a look at your current phone, and think about how you could remove the battery, without risking to damage the phone itself at all.

And others have already said many times: There were waterresistend phones already before this. "But waterproof!" was always a bullshit argument, be it battery or headphone jack.

Karovorak posted...

To change the battery in my phone I would have to remove my fucking display, and go from the front. And then I would have to rebuild and reglue everything perfectly again.

No replacement or tools would help me with that, even if they were free.

Seriously, take a look at your current phone, and think about how you could remove the battery, without risking to damage the phone itself at all.

And others have already said many times: There were waterresistend phones already before this. "But waterproof!" was always a bullshit argument, be it battery or headphone jack.

Not everything has to be replaceable by the end user for it to be more consumer friendly.

Providing an easy path for repair shops to replace batteries at a fraction of the price of their current price point is still a huge step forward.

Water resistant phones were through shitty flaps and occasionally oring seals that are no where near as effective as modern phones that are

And headphone jack is whatever. Most phones outside of certain LG devices weren't going to be capable of driving good wired headphones anyways

GSWarriors- posted...

Phone companies force you to buy new phones by not supporting it with updates after like 2-5 years

Didn't Apple used to outright sabotage the battery and processor under the guise of, "Protecting your old phone from dying?"

Ive had my current iphone for 7 years. The one before that I had for 10(?)

DnDer posted...

Didn't Apple used to outright sabotage the battery and processor under the guise of, "Protecting your old phone from dying?"

they lowered the cpu speed to increase battery life for aging batteries. they later added the choice between prioritising battery life or cpu speed after the outcry
apple still supports their phones for like 5-7 years vs androids 1-2 years

The trend towards waterproofing phones is partly why they are all sealed now.

I would like to have easily replaceable batteries, but that means genuine or high quality batteries also need to be easily available.

Kamil posted...

What is getting me here, is who keeps a phone for two years.......

Maybe because it works just fine and I don't need the newest phone that is the smallest of updates for no reason other than hype. Obvs buying new tech is fun, at times but I still think the PS4 vs the PS4 Pro is almost no difference and the difference b/t a PS4 og and a PS5 does matter ppl do still make games for them both (don't bring up Cyberpunk 2077, that was their all their fault for thinking that game could run on a PS4 should have been PC and next gen only.) Wait I just did.....I was mind hacked!!!

Not sticking up for them but cdprojeckt was originally a PC dev just cancel the damn PS4 release if it was that bad.

My current phone the galaxy s9 works great, my s7 still works and hell if it wasnt for the battery I would be still on my iphone 5.

I dont need a new phone every year, two or even 5 if my current phone still functions.

GSWarriors- posted...

Phone companies force you to buy new phones by not supporting it with updates after like 2-5 years

Samsubg does 4 years which is why I go with them if I am buying something more premium.

My phone can charge from 0 to fill in like twenty five mins and last a day and a half I don't want or need this stupid shit

orangefire25 posted...

My phone can charge from 0 to fill in like twenty five mins and last a day and a half I don't want or need this stupid shit

Fuck off.

"I don't personally want this right or protection so nobody does"

People like you are a big part of why we have corporations boots firmly pressing down on our heads and expecting us to gleefully lick them when they give us a 5 minute break once a day.

GSWarriors- posted...

Phone companies force you to buy new phones by not supporting it with updates after like 2-5 years

As long as it still makes phone calls, that's all that really matters.

PeteyParker posted...

What kind of phone do you have that can hold a charge for more than 15-24 hours depending on usage, because I would really like to get that phone.

13 pro max can do it. Most top end flagship phones these days can do two days without needing a charge now.

Lvaneede posted...

The trend towards waterproofing phones is partly why they are all sealed now.

Very very partly at the most. Likely even less. They don't want you replacing parts in the phone. It's their entire business model that you can't.

orangefire25 posted...

My phone can charge from 0 to fill in like twenty five mins and last a day and a half I don't want or need this stupid shit

A replaceable battery sees a phone go from empty to full in 2 seconds. Who wants to mess around with 25 minutes... that's some real stupid shit, right there.

Tom_Joad posted...

A replaceable battery sees a phone go from empty to full in 2 seconds. Who wants to mess around with 25 minutes... that's some real stupid shit, right there.

who on earth carries around spare batteries lmao. in your pockets or some shit? crazy

I just replaced my phone's battery. The battery expanded and pushed the display loose. Bought a battery off of Amazon and did the replacement myself, not too hard. Having an easier way to do this would be nice.

Most people I know get a new phone due to battery life diminishing, a severely damaged phone, or they have some way to get a new phone for cheap or free.

I'll be kind of sad to see phones get fatter again. I really like how sleek and seamless phones have become

scar_the_1 posted...

Very very partly at the most. Likely even less. They don't want you replacing parts in the phone. It's their entire business model that you can't.

Apple doesn't. there isnt nearly as much of an issue with most Android OEMs

AnsestralRecall posted...

Apple doesn't. there isnt nearly as much of an issue with most Android OEMs

Not as much, but it's not like any of the big smartphone manufacturers build phones where the battery is easily replaceable without tools