European Union votes to bring back replaceable phone batteries

[Shawn Knight]

Why it matters: What's old is new again, at least in the European Union. The European Parliament recently voted in favor of new legislation that would overhaul the entire battery life cycle, from design to end-of-life, which includes important caveats for smartphone users.

Among the many changes, the new rules would require batteries in consumer devices like smartphones to be easily removable and replaceable. That's far from the case today with most phones, but that wasn't always the case.

In the earlier days of mobile phones (think Nokia 5190, Nokia 3310, Motorola Razr V3, Palm Treo 700p), swapping out the battery took mere seconds. Charging technology wasn't all that fast, and it wasn't uncommon to carry around a spare battery pack to switch out when your primary battery got low.

Most batteries were standalone modular units that could be traded out by releasing a latch and sliding it out, kind of like the battery on cordless power tools today. For phones with "internal" batteries, you'd simply pop off the rear cover of the device, lift the battery out, put a fresh one in, and button it back up.

Manufacturers eventually moved away from easily swappable batteries in favor of "sealed" handsets sporting sleeker designs. Many consumers were vocal about the change but over time, most accepted it as the new norm and moved on. The EU's new rules could force manufacturers to open up the history books for ideas on how to move forward.

This is not the first time the EU has prompted a rethink. Last year, the EU set a deadline of December 28, 2024, for phones and other small electronic devices to include a USB-C port for charging. That's a problem for Apple considering the iPhone uses a proprietary Lightning port. Apple has already confirmed that it'll comply with the mandate, meaning we could see this year's batch of new iPhones ship with USB-C (or next year's iPhones, at the latest) – at least, in the EU.

Image credit: David Ballew, Tyler Lastovich

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https://www.techspot.com/news/99102-european-union-votes-bring-back-replaceable-phone-batteries.html

 

[3ogdy]

Good news. People wouldn't have to heat p their phones , remove the glue, mess with thin wires to remove the old battery and then connect the new one, glue it inside the phone and then apply fresh glue to reattach the back cover. It was about time they did something about this.

 

[nismo91]

I'm actually okay with this. in fact I'm willing to sacrifice water submersion rating for replaceable battery. sure IP67 is nice to have, but user-removable battery is just nicer.

I had LG G5, it uses unibody design but with 2600mah user-removable battery. it uses 18W charger. I guess with current tech asking for 5200mah battery with 36W of charging speed seems reasonable. I have absolutely no need for 60W or 100W charger.

for those asking why bother with removable battery, well if you abuse your phone enough (playing games for hours or recording 4k videos frequently or simply living in hot climates) you'll notice that the battery does degrade much faster than predicted.

 

[m4a4]

Sleek slabs could soon be a thing of the past

I'm actually okay with this. in fact I'm willing to sacrifice water submersion rating for replaceable battery. sure IP67 is nice to have, but user-removable battery is just nicer.

That's just buying into a lie. They can most definitely engineer a sleek water resistant phone with a removable battery. They just want to save a buck so they can glue it all together (which, isn't even good for the life of the device since glue breaks down over time). Or worse, they know full well that the repairability suffers from doing so (so that you're more likely to buy a new device).

Now, that's not saying that taking it apart for the first time won't degrade the seal, but it's still better to have that option (and the option to reapply a new seal).

 

[Marco Mint]

Whether you make use of the option or not. The ability to be able to easily pop in a new battery if needed, is a good one. Just like the choice of if you want to use a headphone socket instead of bluetooth.
Can the EU now please make it impossible for the Irish government to illegally issue a tax on a motor vehicle that has already been taxed elsewhere (VRT) so that we're not paying 30% more than everyone else in the f-ing world for our cars and motorcycles?
Thank you.

 

[EdmondRC]

What about tablets and handheld gaming devices?

 

[MakeMSGreatAgain]

Bull you can do all three in one package... Samsung Galaxy S5 did it in 2014. It was water resistant, had replaceble battery, and was sleek and thin. They can totally engineer a water resistant, sleek slate phone, with replaceable battery - IT CAN BE DONE! They just don't want to do it because then they can't sell you as many. Sure it will cost a bit more but that is worth it to some of us.

Anyway, battery replacement costs on iPhones at an Apple store really isn't that bad. I had one done on my iPhone 7 a few years ago. It wasn't that expensive and gave me another 2-3 years. Considering their phones can last 5-6 years and still get OS updates, a battery replacement mid way through is perfectly reasonable in my eyes. I now have a 12 mini for nearly two years now and its battery is at 95%, but I also take care of it by avoiding leaving it at >90% and avoid heat. I expect to get 5-6 years out of this phone as well.

 

[dangh]

Can the EU now please make it impossible for the Irish government to illegally issue a tax on a motor vehicle that has already been taxed elsewhere (VRT) so that we're not paying 30% more than everyone else in the f-ing world for our cars and motorcycles?
Thank you.

Oh effin yes. And while on it, maybe do a big step and switch sides we drive out cars so I could get a cheap car from Germany or so...

 

[kira setsu]

With foldables like my fold3 it almost makes too much sense, half of that phones body could hold just a battery and it isnt that sleek already anyway(or even waterproof) so if I was able to get a new one where I could replace the battery and it stays the same size, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

 

[return]

Too complicated for a multi-billion company to put rubber around a lid.

 

[ed342]

The communists will soon be deciding we all have to have the same phone, instead of letting the market decide whats needed. if user replaceable batteries were desirable above other features all phones would have still have user replaceable batteries.

 

[PEnnn]

Funny. Just a few stories away, almost the same characters are attacking the EU for being....anti-consumer!!

 

[hahahanoobs]

I'd care of this was 15 years ago. Since then I've never had to replace a battery. Or wanted to.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Funny. Just a few stories away, almost the same characters are attacking the EU for being....anti-consumer!!

Rinse and repeat...

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Bull you can do all three in one package... Samsung Galaxy S5 did it in 2014. It was water resistant, had replaceble battery, and was sleek and thin. They can totally engineer a water resistant, sleek slate phone, with replaceable battery - IT CAN BE DONE! They just don't want to do it because then they can't sell you as many. Sure it will cost a bit more but that is worth it to some of us.

Anyway, battery replacement costs on iPhones at an Apple store really isn't that bad. I had one done on my iPhone 7 a few years ago. It wasn't that expensive and gave me another 2-3 years. Considering their phones can last 5-6 years and still get OS updates, a battery replacement mid way through is perfectly reasonable in my eyes. I now have a 12 mini for nearly two years now and its battery is at 95%, but I also take care of it by avoiding leaving it at >90% and avoid heat. I expect to get 5-6 years out of this phone as well.

Apples battery replacement is actually great. My grandmother got her 6s battery replaced last year. $49, and she can get another 2-3 years out of it.

I don't see anyone offering galaxy s6 replacements for $49 from an official retailer, with warranty.

 

[ed342]

Rinse and repeat...

It will backfire on the eu when only a few 'eu phones" are available in the eu and all decent phones are grey imports from Asia/US'
It's just bureaucracy and control over what should be a free market and will stifle innovation.
if they get their way with the batteries they will look for some other aspect to dictate to everyone about instead of letting consumers / and manufacturers decide what that want.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

In the old days I replaced the stock battery with a higher capacity one. Gave me a little more air time and of course a bigger fire if that should have happened.

 

[NintPlayBox]

Replaceable batteries are totally fine by me!
Besides I'm sure the manufacturers offer different phones with different options the European union would be fine with some phone not offering a replaceable battery.

 

[hahahanoobs]

It will backfire on the eu when only a few 'eu phones" are available in the eu and all decent phones are grey imports from Asia/US'
It's just bureaucracy and control over what should be a free market and will stifle innovation.
if they get their way with the batteries they will look for some other aspect to dictate to everyone about instead of letting consumers / and manufacturers decide what that want.

I don't think you understood my comment.

 

[kiwigraeme]

The more and more phones become commodities -
where can they go only faster
Screens , mega pixels etc are enough
Unless new sensors , new uses - how is a 2035 phone going to be different from a 2036
Our phone has made 1001 new improvements over last years model - be amazed.
Use to see that for car adverts in the 80s - you would figure get in a car five years hence - now 5005 amazing improvements - your mind who be blown - from your old piece of junk

 

[ddferrari]

Never owned a phone that needed a new battery during its lifecycle... but good news for those who do. Planning to keep my current model until it dies. It seems like all the improvements in the last several years revolve around the camera - which I couldn't care less about.

 

[amghwk]

Non-replacable battery phones are a scam, more manufacturers to either charge exorbitant prices for replacement or make users buy the next phone from them, in the name of upgrade, while the current phone will perfectly work fine with a new battery.

 

[mrvco]

It doesn’t take a genius to see the next ‘logical’ step… the EU will mandate that all smart phones sold in the EU use a standardized battery that can be used in any EU phone.

 

[magisys]

Finally that time will come back! if the battery wear is bad, just swap it without the need to go in repair center and lost personal time for sleek and aesthetic bullshit.

 

[d5aqoep]

Good news. People wouldn't have to heat p their phones , remove the glue, mess with thin wires to remove the old battery and then connect the new one, glue it inside the phone and then apply fresh glue to reattach the back cover. It was about time they did something about this.

What about Battery Serial number locking done by Apple to disable battery health features?