The European Union is moving closer to enacting a law that will require smartphones like the iPhone to have easier battery repairs.
The European Union is moving closer to enacting a law that will require smartphones like the iPhone to have easier battery repairs.
Weirdly torn on this: I live a few hours from the nearest Apple store, so it’d be nice if I could replace my phone battery without going through all this, but I also like the fact my phone is a decently robust and waterproof little brick with few moving parts or breakable pieces. It’s practically a tank compared to the last battery-replaceable smartphone I had.
If I had to replace my battery as frequently as I did with early smartphones then I’d willingly trade some of the durability for a user-replaceable battery, but I’ve had an iPhone 12 mini since its launch – about two and a half years – and its battery still gets me through the day just fine. iOS Battery Health says its maximum capacity is 87%. Maybe next year I’ll need a battery replacement, and that’ll do me fine for another three years. I’ll be extremely pleased, but also quite surprised, if the phone lasts long enough to need a second battery replacement after that. Is that a repair we should really be optimizing for?
@tojikomori As someone who repairs these things I can assure you that it’s possible to have replaceable batteries AND water-proofness. Don’t believe the BS that the manufacturers try to sell you in order to ensure you’re beholden to them for all things.
The question isn’t “is it possible?”. It’s “what’s the trade off?”.
There isn’t a trade off that I wouldn’t consider a massive downgrade to my device.
Yea there were waterproof phones before most phones pivoted to non-removable right?
I guess another question is whether manufacturers can reach the same current rating on removable battery phones?
Not really.
@RyanHakurei @tojikomori @holo_nexus
The Samsung Galaxy S5 was IP67 rated and had a removable battery, MicroSD card slot, and headphone jack.
A better waterproofing rating could be obtained with a screwed-on back panel and gasket. But phone manufacturers are lazy and would rather you buy a new phone when the battery wears out.
Why should I believe the word of some random person on the internet? Why should the EU? They are going to take testimony from actual engineers who work on this stuff from multiple manufacturers who are going to say it’s not possible and guess what? The EU is going to believe them.