This is a much bigger demand than the usbc charging. I wonder if they can actually pull it off. I’d be happy with simply the right to be able to use a fully independent 3rd party to replace a battery.
this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2023
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I had the battery for my OnePlus 6T replaced, extending the phone lifetime for probably 2 years. It cost me about $100.
Forcing manufacturers to make batteries easily replaceable by the user without special tools and skills seems like it could make phones less lightweight and less waterproof. I would be fine if they just require manufactures to make it available as a reasonably priced service.
I recommend checking out Fairphone. The phone is completely modular so when something breaks, you can buy a new part and replace it yourself.
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This is a step in the right direction, but because phones are now extremely sophisticated they frequent need security updates, but phone manufacturers only support a phone for about 3 years that also needs tackling because that will also help reduce ewaste.
The EU is probably going to demand 5 years of security updates for smartphones (and 3 of full OS updates).
That is the dumbest ewaste for "smart" devices ever!
If the manufacturer isn't willing to support it then they should be mandated to release the firmware to the world.
Five years software support are mandatory in the EU. Germany wanted at least seven but couldn't convince the rest
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I'll admit that I haven't had battery problems for a long time, but I still think that this is a great idea if it can prolong the usage of other hardware.
Usually the software bugs down before the battery, and even with replacement batteries there will still be an issue of what to do with the spent batteries. Can they be revived or clustered for other purposes etc.?
I know that used batteries from cars are still valuable as storage even when they are at half capacity or less, but phone batteries are so small that it isn't feasible.
Hopefully this will push the manufactures into a different direction than the current use and discard strategy. European companies will soon have to file environmental reports, but with batteries coming from Asia, I'm not sure what effect EU will have. Chain responsibility isn't really there yet.
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Good!
While that's great, what I'm more concerned about is pricing for original replacement batteries. I don't really care if I have to send my phone in for 2 to 3 days (which is what it took last time I sent an iPhone 11 Pro to Apple), what concerns me more is pricing. Especially with older phones, having to pay $69 to $89 for battery repair (plus shipping) is quite a lot. Self-service parts cost the exact same price from Apple currently.
The EU should forbid charging more for replacement or repair parts than the cost to manufacture them plus a small (!) markup.
Also, please extend this law to include all kinds of electronics (smartwatches, laptops, tablets etc.).
Especially AirPods and other true wireless earbuds should have replaceable batteries, as they are basically dead after 3 to 5 years, which just feels wrong considering everything except the batteries probably lasts a lot longer and when you get an expensive "battery repair" they just give you new AirPods.
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About time. I got two batteries on my Samsung Omnia i900. Is faster than carrying a clumsy external battery. Instantaneous 100%
This is great. I have the Fairphone 4, which does have a couple of issues, but the fact that the battery can be replaced will increase the usable lifespan of the phone.
I have a Pixel 2 used for messing about with Lineage, but the battery only lasts fifteen minutes, but is otherwise still a great phone. If it was easy enough to swap out that battery, I'd probably still be using it as my main.
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I like replaceable batteries but there is no doubt that the simplified unibody designs have other benefits besides the planned obsolescence companies seek. Battery life or thickeness will certainly take a hit. I feel like having some form of incentives for more repairable phones would work better to bring better, more renuable options without blockingotherr designs
We heard the same things from the laptop industry. But framework proved you can make laptop that's modular and still thin. And battery density keeps improving so even if it adds 2mm it'll catch up in a generation or two.
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non-replaceable batterys are also safety hazard. what if one starts swelling up due to age or fault? Only reason why they started doing that is so phones would become unusable faster.
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Yes please! That would seriously be a dream come true. At this point, battery packs are super small, but they still need to come with a wire even if it's just like a 6 inch wire. Being able to care one or two spare batteries I can swap out would be amazing.
Oh yeah! this is more than welcome imo, honestly