Awesome, just like 7 years ago it was standard. Phones with good specs are gonna last forever with this change
Good. Non-replaceable batteries benefit no one but device manufacturers and miners of lithium, cobalt, etc.
I don’t think it would really benefit or harm the lithium miners and battery manufacturers - in fact it might benefit them more if they could sell their batteries directly to consumers and skip the middleman, keeping those profits for themselves.
Yeah, you’re right. I didn’t think that through properly.
Ha yeah, I’ll just buy more batteries so I can always be able to pop in a spare, sigh.
EU doing all the heavy regulatory lifting that American politicians are too afraid to touch. As both an American and an avid Apple enthusiast, I sincerely appreciate it.
Apple will do something to ensure only batteries from them work right, mark my words.
Certainly. But I hope the EU regulators do the same trick as they did with the USB C port rregulation. It is against the rules to make it a walled garden.
Apple will do something to ensure only batteries from them work right, mark my words.
Still a slight win though!
Well if only official Apple batteries will work, then that means Apple will jack up the price to something ridiculous, because they’ll be the only option for a battery.
So hopefully third party batteries would work as well. I think third party batteries work in iPhones at the moment. So if we’re able to install them much more easily then that would be very good.
The EU is also working on Right To Repair legislation that iirc has something to say about reasonable prices for repair supplies and spare parts. In that case, even if only Apple-made batteries work, they’d still be affordable, or at least within a reasonable percentage of what they actually cost and not marked up enormously.
Apple will do something to ensure only batteries from them work right, mark my words.
They tried doing this with the upcoming USB C cables but EU stepped in by making sure that every cable will work without any limitations on transfer and charging speeds.
I fully expect Apple claim that the EU is an environmental terrorist by having “disposable batteries being thrown out after their charge is depleted” and that somehow having batteries being certified by Apple prevents that.
2027 seems kinda weak sauce. Maybe it is more reasonable than I feel given I don’t know much about hardware design timelines, but I honestly was hoping for more of a middle finger to companies that have embraced the anti-consumer practice of using non-replaceable batteries.
Well if the deadline was 2025, then the EU just probably wouldn’t have any new smart phones until 2027 anyway. I think its a decent compromise that gives manufacturers a chance to redesign their new models.
How will this affect apple?
Thank you EU for actually having functional legal protections.
Yes ! I loved that. My previous phone has a dead battery, and I can’t get it replaced because the manufacturer doesn’t make the battery anymore.
what phone?
I mean pretty much all batteries even now are user replaceable, it just depends on skill of the user, but I know they mention EASILY replacable, so I am very curious about their definition of “easily” since it means something different for everyone.
The term “user” has some implied level of technical skill (or lack).
If have to use the binocular microscope and soldering station at work (as I did for headphones last month) then I don’t count that as “user replaceable”.
wonder how apple will react to this. lack of user repairability is a considerable source of revenue for them.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to do the same thing as the printer companies. and install authentication chips in the battery modules so that only official apple batteries could be installed in Apple devices - then sell their batteries at marked up prices
“We made them easily available and replaceable, what more could you want?”
I don’t like Apple but battery is the one thing I wouldn’t mess around with and buy from a cheap 3rd party vendor. Batteries tend to go boom and if it’s a cheap knock-off you increase your chances. Since it will be law we will most likely get a bunch of 3rd party vendors, I would maybe see myself buying from an established battery manufacturer but not from a quick Amazon search or from the small repair shop on the corner.
While you have a point there, I wouldn’t be surprised if we had reputable third party battery companies sell phone batteries as well
- Especially if the smartphone battery size is standardized to a set of standards (I doubt that will happen, but it’s nice to dream) hell if this happened Energizer and Duracell might also jump on the lithium bandwagon.
They are already matching serial numbers in software to verify if a part is still the original one, so I guess the next logical step would be indeed to switch to authentication modules. With that they would allow users to change the parts on their own while still making lots of money
Lots of whining probs
So… At the end lf the article, it also mention non-recheargeable battery used in devices. But where? (watch, maybe?). All of those I know are the easiliy repleaceable ones which can also be switched with recheargeable one’s.
(Actually, if Wikipedia is to trust and up to date. Those so called primary battery indeed have an important market share)
I’ve replaced a lot of iPhone batteries at this point. I wouldn’t call it easy, but it’s definitely not non-replaceable. Takes about 15-20 min and Amazon is filled with kits that even include tools.
Still I miss the Nokia days when we could carry an extra to swap when the first started to die, not for the “battery can’t hold a charge” issues.
I feel like these are two different categories that will be argued.
I’ve replaced a lot of iPhone batteries at this point. I wouldn’t call it easy, but it’s definitely not non-replaceable. Takes about 15-20 min and Amazon is filled with kits that even include tools.
Takes me 10 secs on my fairphone 3. No tools required.
Is this (article 11 on page 55) the approved text? It seems kind of vague on what constitutes “readily removable and replaceable.”
No, this is the adopted text. Its basically an update of the text you linked, which is the regulation from 2020. The relevant part you want might be (38) and (39):
(38) […] A portable battery should be considered to be removable by the end-user when it can be removed with the use of commercially available tools and without requiring the use of specialised tools, unless they are provided free of charge, or proprietary tools, thermal energy or solvents to disassemble it […]
(39) To ensure the safety of end-users, this Regulation should provide for a limited derogation for portable batteries from the removability and replaceability requirements set for portable batteries concerning appliances that incorporate portable batteries and that are specifically designed to be used, for the majority of the active service of the appliance, in an environment that is regularly subject to splashing water, water streams or water immersion and that are intended to be washable or rinseable. This derogation should only apply when it is not possible, by way of redesign of the appliance, to ensure the safety of the end-user and the safe continued use of the appliance after the end-user has correctly followed the instructions to remove and replace the battery. Where the derogation applies, the product should be designed in such a way as to make the battery removable and replaceable only by independent professionals, and not by end-users.
Good post, thanks.
with the use of commercially available tools and without requiring the use of specialised tools
It’s contradictory, what about commercially available specialized tools? Who defines what’s specialized and not?
I mean…you can be pedantic about it, but to me this reads fairly clearly as “If it can’t be removed with a screwdriver, it’s not allowed.”
The evil is always in details, thats why with their Incandescent light bulb ban, these are now sold as heating devices/lamps, so much for their bans/rules. That’s why I pointed out commercially available tools can be at same time specialized tools, they should rather mention something like it must be tools owned by 50% households according stats and do simple survey about screwdrivers.
I’m going to be honest, I think that this is a case where companies will always dodge the rules unless the consequences are so severe they’re unwilling to risk it. Something like forced downsizing, or a fine proportional to annual revenue. That would make companies significantly more hesitant to try and tread the line.
Brilliant! I miss the days of being able to slap on a massive oversize battery to get you through the day! :-D Carrying around powerbanks and cables is such a huge step back!
it’s sad that replaceable batteries got extinct in just a few years. In my opinion replaceable battery is a great selling point and I know I’m not the only one so I’m surprised that the market are not able to provide this…
Especially now a days when phones have stagnated and having a 5 year old phone is nothing strange anymore.I used to have a replaceable battery to my old LG G3 and it was great to just swap batteries and directly having a fully charged phone. Now I always have to have power banks or try to charge up during train rides or whatever and having to worry that I don’t have enough juice
I have an old phone that works fine except it cannot be charged. Was looking into charging the battery in a friend’s identical phone, and putting the charged battery into mine.
I would have to dismantle the entire phone and remove the screen just to get to the battery. Absolutely ridiculous.
I replaced it with a Fairphone, which I promote every time I get the chance to.
Awesome!
