Thank fucking god for the EU, for fighting for global digital rights where nobody else does.
this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2023
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The fact that some of the gen Z crowd think it will be horrible have forgotten that it was much easier to carry 2 batteries and swap them out vs carrying a charger and cable with you everywhere. Pop in the new battery, power it on and carry on with you now full battery phone. Being tethered to a wall so you can have 10% from 20 minutes of charging is crazy.
I used to do this. I thought it was awesome but I was literally the only person I ever knew who did this. It was not a popular thing to do.
Apple in 2027: This is not a battery, it's a.....umm ....... Ultra High Density Low Current Super Capacitor.
EU: Ok, then in addition to that UHDLCSC you also need a removable battery.
Yay! Another dongle!
No doubt an unpopular opinion, but I'd rather keep the IP rating than be able to swap my own battery without the phone becoming a literal brick.
I doubt this is a scenario where we can have both.
This waterproof resistance argument is astroturfing at this point.
Samsung Galaxy Xcover Pro is IP68 and has a removable battery.
Now will companies also offer this in the usa or will they have 2 models for sale
I think that would depend on how much EU citizens care about being fully waterproof. I assume there will be focus groups.
If that is a high priority for EU customers, then it will cause Apple to have to do an entire redesign. If they ended up doing that, then I don't see any reason why they would make a separate US model line. If EU citizens don't care about waterproof and are fine with it being water resistant, then I could see them having a waterproof non removable US version and an EU version that has removable, but is only water resistant.
There is a real risk that the US eventually follows suit, and there is no reason to re-tool twice if you don't need to.
Samsung Galaxy Xcover Pro with removable battery and IP68 entered the chat
Wasn't the S5 like 67?
Yes, the S5 was IP67. The Xcover Pro is an actual phone with both.
There was/is more than these two examples. You have others like the CAT phones.
All we need now is a headphone jack
Definitely. Never understood why some manufacturers removed jacks
The argument was saving space for other parts. That's true in a way. But if things needed we should have this space. What's next? Saving the space of the charger? /s
Headphone jacks are a 19th century invention, if having them restricts innovation then I am all for removing them.
We can't only consider innovation today, we also have to consider its ecological impact. Jack plugs and headphones are way more durable than Bluetooth equivalent. I have 16 yo jack headset that still works perfectly, I only had to change the cushions twice.
So stop making any technological advancement because of the potential impact of e-waste? Not saying it’s a bad thing but it will have have its own environmental implications. No new energy development, we have to rely on existing oil and nuclear technology rather than investing in making renewable energy sources cheaper and more efficient.
At the point we are at, yes we have to make a major change, e-waste is an immense problem for many years and we are only starting to fight it.
Inventions not thinking about e-waste at all shouldn't be allowed anymore.
It's specifically the wire that always breaks first. How can they be more durable?
You can repair a broken cable fairly easily. Especially on higher end headphones. Sometimes you can even buy replacement cables right from the manufacturer.
When you buy wireless headphones you know upfront that they will die within a few years and you will not be able to replace the tiny glued in, oddly shaped batteries they come with.
I like the convenience of BT at times, but I really miss having headphone jacks and hate having to bring adaptors with me.
Can't imagine that getting mandated unfortunately
When Apple want to, they can design amazing things. So I look forward to see if they come up with a clever Apple-like way to do this. Or maybe they just make it easier to remove the back.
I look forward to see if they come up with a clever Apple-like way to do this
Battery DRM?
Then they wouldn't be able to sell their phones in the EU. Regulators may be stupid, but even they can see that it's a blatant disregard to the rule of replaceable batteries.
I mean, Bosch eBikes already do this. You can only use official batteries with them
Not a bad idea but there are flaws and this also doesn't seem to address the issue of pricing or availability.
- So you can remove the battery, will you be able to buy one.
- They could prevent 3rd parties from making batteries that work.
- They could just not sell battery replacements.
- They could add more parts needed, like seals, screws that strip too easily, that annoying sticky tape etc.
They could start selling tiers of battery quality which TBH sounds awful if they make the best battery life duration paywalled.
Making them easily replaceable will create a market, a better one than we have today, almost any battery you can buy today as end-user are trash-tier.
Quality 3rd party batteries will rise up if the phone manufacturers fuck around.
We already have regulations about spare parts availability and pricing for some devices (mainly household appliances) - and it is planned to slowly enforce regulation for other device types over time. They'll watch the market, and if apple decides to be stupid that'll come pretty quickly.
Just like with the appliances where some vendors had their shops ready way before regulation we already have some phone vendors prepare for that - like Nokia selling some spares via ifixit. So if apple decides to play stupid games it'll be up against vendors that'll be completely fine pushing regulation through quickly as hurting apple will only benefit them.
Just like with the appliances where some vendors had their shops ready way before regulation we already have some phone vendors prepare for that - like Nokia selling some spares via ifixit. So if apple decides to play stupid games it'll be up against vendors that'll be completely fine pushing regulation through quickly as hurting apple will only benefit them.
You mean like Apple’s Self Service Repair, which has been available for a few years now?…
You mean like Apple’s Self Service Repair, which has been available for a few years now?…
Sure, if you call 1.3 years a few years...
I think apple will comply by including a dongle battery that can be replaced but no one will actually carry with their phone
The law says, "Designing portable batteries in appliances in such a way that consumers can themselves easily remove and replace them;"
Key part being "in appliances".
They know with whom they are dealing
Fuck the EU. I hope we still get good small phones and EU assholes only get big bloated as fuck ones.
This is EU actively making my phone more shitty.
Who says there can't be SFF phones with replacable batteries. In fact, old samsung phones had replacable batteries.
And they were bigger than comparable htc's, were flimsy, and ip68 was a pipe dream.
Why just batteries?
With more context it makes sense. It isn't just smartphone batteries, but lots of consumer electronics. Phones, tablets, cameras, ebikes/scooters/cars. And other parts of the legislation are focused on battery recycling targets for long-term sustainability.
From another article on the resolution:
All electric vehicle and rechargeable industrial batteries above 2kWh will need to have a compulsory carbon footprint declaration, label, and digital passport.
The parliament also passed new targets for collecting waste and recovering materials from old batteries.
They're targeting batteries (first) because they use so much lithium and other relatively rare metals, and having so many batteries up in landfills is not only terrible pollution when they leech into water and stuff, but it's just not compatible with our current and foreseeable dependence on lithium battery tech.
Waterprood Devuces do not need a Changeable Batterie because its a Loophole in the Paper
As long as they can engineer a water resistant phone with these guidelines I'm all for it.
They have in the past and then they decided, no, let's say it's too difficult and use it as one of the excuses to guarantee limited lifetime of a product.
It's still a thing. Samsung has one.