User-Replaceable Batteries Are Coming Back In a Big Way (theverge.com) 104
New EU battery rules taking effect early next year are pushing tech makers toward user-replaceable batteries in products like headphones, e-readers, handheld consoles, laptops, and possibly earbuds. But carve-outs for smartphones and tablets may mean replaceable batteries won't necessarily return to phones in the way many users remember. The Verge's Dominic Preston reports: Since the upcoming law doesn't actually come into force until February 18th, 2027, companies still have plenty of time to get their ducks in a row. Still, it's likely that before then we'll see more and more manufacturers launch products with user-replaceable batteries, across audio, e-readers, gaming handhelds, and more. Only time will tell whether most of those products are EU only, or whether the new European laws shape the nature of tech worldwide.
It's likely that some product categories will move slower than others. Tech companies will have breathed a sigh of relief that wearables look likely to be exempt, but if wireless earbuds aren't carved out as well then there may be a scramble to adapt the miniature designs for easy replaceability. "The in-ear form factor demands extreme miniaturization, to fit the driver, antenna, processor, microphones and battery," notes a recent report from consultants Futuresource, going on to suggest that meeting the requirements will make earbuds both bigger and more expensive to manufacture.
There also remains uncertainty about how some elements of the law will be interpreted. The law requires that user repairs be possible using "commercially available tools," which are "tools available on the market to all end-users." Right to Repair Europe's Alberico points out that this is a broad definition, likely to include a lot of tools not found in most houses, so there will likely be nothing to stop manufacturers requiring the sorts of less common screws that require dedicated electronics tool kits. There's also no strict definition of the "reasonable" price that manufacturers are required to set for spare parts. "That will likely take time -- and possibly litigation -- to clarify in practice," Alberico says. "But without fair access to affordable spare parts, repair will struggle to become the simplest and most attractive option for consumers."
The big disappointment is that the separate phone and tablet legislation means we won't see any real changes there, so long as manufacturers make their batteries and devices durable. "This creates a false tradeoff between durability and repairability," Alberico says. "Robust, waterproof devices should not have to come at the expense of user-replaceable batteries. While the ecodesign legislation requirements meant an improvement in battery durability and replaceability, at Right to Repair Europe we'll continue to advocate for all products to be designed with user-replaceable batteries." Whether the EU will listen remains to be seen. Otherwise, the main product people seem to want to replace the battery in may remain one of the only ones where they can't.
It's likely that some product categories will move slower than others. Tech companies will have breathed a sigh of relief that wearables look likely to be exempt, but if wireless earbuds aren't carved out as well then there may be a scramble to adapt the miniature designs for easy replaceability. "The in-ear form factor demands extreme miniaturization, to fit the driver, antenna, processor, microphones and battery," notes a recent report from consultants Futuresource, going on to suggest that meeting the requirements will make earbuds both bigger and more expensive to manufacture.
There also remains uncertainty about how some elements of the law will be interpreted. The law requires that user repairs be possible using "commercially available tools," which are "tools available on the market to all end-users." Right to Repair Europe's Alberico points out that this is a broad definition, likely to include a lot of tools not found in most houses, so there will likely be nothing to stop manufacturers requiring the sorts of less common screws that require dedicated electronics tool kits. There's also no strict definition of the "reasonable" price that manufacturers are required to set for spare parts. "That will likely take time -- and possibly litigation -- to clarify in practice," Alberico says. "But without fair access to affordable spare parts, repair will struggle to become the simplest and most attractive option for consumers."
The big disappointment is that the separate phone and tablet legislation means we won't see any real changes there, so long as manufacturers make their batteries and devices durable. "This creates a false tradeoff between durability and repairability," Alberico says. "Robust, waterproof devices should not have to come at the expense of user-replaceable batteries. While the ecodesign legislation requirements meant an improvement in battery durability and replaceability, at Right to Repair Europe we'll continue to advocate for all products to be designed with user-replaceable batteries." Whether the EU will listen remains to be seen. Otherwise, the main product people seem to want to replace the battery in may remain one of the only ones where they can't.
Welcome (Score:4, Insightful)
This is the usual way the EU does this stuff. They don't get too specific, they let courts figure that out and update their rules if necessary.
It is disappointing that waterproof devices are not included, like IP68 phones. Then again I wonder if IP68 rating is enough to claim that, because typically if they say IP68 and you submerge the phone, they don't want to fix it under warranty. IP68 means a water jet, so I suppose it's not actually submersion, but I think a manufacturer might have a hard time arguing it with a court that is likely to side with the consumer's understanding of words like "waterproof".
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So you want big tech to force people to abandon their devices after a few years? Apple intentionally reduces battery life to force upgrades. This is billions of dollars of revenue we are talking about.
Re:Welcome (Score:5, Insightful)
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Not being up front about it is the nefarious plan to get you to upgrade the phone. The justification for the slowdown makes perfect technical sense but the decision to not disclose it really isn't excusable.
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Are other manufacturers "upfront" about choosing to undervolt and crash in the same siutation?
Re: Welcome (Score:2)
You don't need to bring anyone else into it to make a judgment on it. Their choice can stand on its own merits. But i would say in general, companies do the bare minimum they can legally get away with in most cases.
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Apple in fact did the opposite of what the OP claims. They reduced power draw on old batteries to extend the useful life of the device.
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it is my device, i decide what do do.
Apple must ask what the user prefer and allow them to change that option.
i may prefer a few hours more for less years than less hours for more years
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That's fine, and you now have a button to choose.
This is pretty silly though. There are a whole bunch of decisions in any non-trivial bit of electronics that you have nothing to do with. Would you like the processor not to thermal throttle either? Perhaps you'd like to choose whether the power supplies switch from PWM to PFM mode?
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True, but they change the how the device change after the sale, at very least need to warn and give the choice to the user... a guy in arctic may actually do not want the throttle, it may help heating the hands!! :)
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> it is my device, i decide what do do.
Really? using this argument about an Apple product, and an iPhone of all things?
I don't think you were going for funny, but it is.
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well, i actually lied, i do not have any apple device... but my family do have and i "have" to support them :)
Re: Welcome (Score:1)
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No, Apple didn't do that. It reduced it to avoid random restarts and sudden loss of power events. Yes, they should have been more upfront about it, but it wasn't some nefarious plan to get you to upgrade your phone.
Owning several old phones, this does not seem to be an issue with any of them.
Nor is it widely reported in Android circles.
Random restarts sounds like a hardware design problem, not a battery problem. Or just an excuse to deliberately hobble old phones because you haven't ponied up £1,000 for a new one in more than a year.
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No it's not actually an issue. All phones have replaceable batteries. They just don't have easily removable ones. If you're uncomfortable unclipping FPC connectors then pay some kid $20 at your local corner stall in the mall to swap the battery for you while you go shop. Every phone on the market has a replicable battery, just like every engine has a replaceable head gasket, even if your wife is uncomfortable stripping down the motor and doesn't own a torque wrench.
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all depends of your device usage too, how you charge it, the environment, etc
Even if you want to sell your device, replacing the battery can give you better price
Re: Welcome (Score:1)
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Why would user replace able RAM make a difference? ... otherwise your phone would be DEAD as in DEAD.
Your RAM is obviously working fine
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Precisely zero people are forced to abandon a devices after a few years for anything other than choice, skill or ignorance. There's not a phone on the market that a reasonably skilled person can't swap the battery on, and I've yet to find a place on earth where you can't find such a reasonably skilled person sitting in a little stall in a shopping mall for cents on the dollar. (Seriously last time I paid $20 premium over the cost of the battery to have someone do this for me, and only because I couldn't be
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sure, i have to rent a 250$ kit, do a open surgery to the phone to replace my battery... how many people do you personally know that accept to do that!?!
user-replaceable batteries should be much simpler to replace, not advance phone surgery
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I for one, do not want my iPhone to become as thick as my old time Motorola flip phone that had replaceable battery....
I run my phones for at least 6 years it seems....before I upgrade and toss the old one, or keep it as a camera for some use....but no, with they way phones are and how long battery life currently is, etc....I don't need user replaceable with all the negatives that brings with it...
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many top devices are currently actually way too thin for no special reason (while the cameras are thick), adding 0.5m isn't anything special
check this phone, ip68 waterproof and replaceable battery and isn't too thick: https://volla.online/en/volla-... [volla.online]
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check this phone, ip68 waterproof and replaceable battery and isn't too thick: https://volla.online/en/volla-... [volla.online]
That looks great, thanks for the link. I'll keep an eye on this one.
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Reasonably unskilled people don't get a battery replacement, they get a new device. Battery life is the number one reason to replace a phone (at 75%) and only 10-15% of phone replacements opt for a battery upgrade. Phone batteries are lasting longer so it's not as much an issue.
https://www.sellcell.com/blog/... [sellcell.com]
So, yeah, techies will replace a battery and you will, some people don't know it's an option. And you are saying battery gate was the consumers fault? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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Reasonably unskilled people don't get a battery replacement, they get a new device. Battery life is the number one reason to replace a phone (at 75%) and only 10-15% of phone replacements opt for a battery upgrade.
^^^^THIS^^^^
If you've experienced the performance management stuff, it makes the phone feel like it's simply slow and old, further encouraging the user to upgrade rather than fix the battery.
If one could just pop in a new battery, they would at least give it a try first. Imagine how many devices would be saved from the landfill!!! I can't believe the EU carved out an exception for phones, of all things. We had phones with replaceable batteries for ages before - it's not a lost art.
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I take it you are a sore US loser that is stuck with substandard tech?
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ProTip: Trying to suppress a voice pointing out you are stupid does not make you any less stupid.
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The reason why cell phones suddenly all started using micro usb was because the EU made them. Was it the best connector? Probably not but up until then literally every model phone used a different connector.
Re: Welcome (Score:1)
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Your argument is a typical strawman argument. You postulate the idea that the E.U. came up with USB-C as the next standard out of the blue, and then ar
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ohh, so sad that your apple was forced to use usb-c !! yes, i joking!
Blame Apple, they could have done their connector open and promote other for using it... as they were assholes, the winning connector was the open one
suck it up and continue
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Replaceable batteries for smartphones is a non-issue as far as I'm concerned. It's easier than ever to charge phones almost anywhere and most batteries are good enough to last a day or more even with heavier use. Anyway be using it more heavily than that who isn't near a charger can get a case with a battery pack or carry a charge pack that's not much larger than a replacement
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For industrial use there are handheld android devices that are both waterproof/dustproof/milspec and have toolless replacement of the battery.
Yes they cost twice as much as a normal phone and are double the size, and swapping the battery just a handful of times would cause an average user to destroy the water proof rating because the average user is hamfisted.
A bit of glue on a uni-body is much cheaper and easier to design on a small device.
Re: Welcome (Score:1)
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"Replaceable" in this context seems to basically mean it isn't glued in. You can certainly make waterproof devices with replaceable batteries. Watchmakers have been doing it for a century. Actually, a century this year. If you don't have a certified professional do the replacement then it's not certified waterproof anymore though. And if you do it yourself there's a good chance it
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Some torx screws and a rubber gasket can easily give you waterproof down to a few meters. Heck, even if it was a crush gasket that had to be replaced for a couple of bucks when removing the cover I'd take it.
Re:Welcome (Score:5, Insightful)
Replaceable batteries for smartphones is a non-issue as far as I'm concerned. It's easier than ever to charge phones almost anywhere and most batteries are good enough to last a day or more even with heavier use.
Except when they swell up and become dangerous.
The likelihood of every needing to replace a battery more than once in a smartphone is quite low.
True. Most people don't keep them long enough to require a second swap.
I'll take having a smaller device with better water resistance over one where I can theoretically change the battery whenever I want. I suspect that most consumers feel exactly the same.
I'm not convinced there's any reason you can't have both. As far as I can tell, the main thing preventing easy battery swaps on smartphones is the label on the back case with the IMEI and stuff.
As long as there isn't any legal compliance reason why that has to be on the back of the phone after the repair, you could make battery change-out as simple as "Remove some number of screws on the side, lift the sealed back off like a giant wristwatch, thus disconnecting the battery that's glued to the back, attach a new back with a new battery and new rubber seals, and put the screws back in."
The only challenging parts are designing a self-aligning connector between the battery and the motherboard (if you make the distance between contacts big enough, this is just trivial spring contacts, so when I call it "challenging", I'm being generous) and convincing the companies to stop making the back case and the sides as a single piece and spend an extra half cent per unit on a silicone seal strip between the two. Oh, and convincing the companies that user-visible screws is a good thing instead of a design horror, because form-over-function has been the biggest plague on the tech industry since the 1990s. The point is that it's more a "We don't want to" problem than a "This is genuinely hard" problem.
And even if there's a compliance reason why the numbers have to be on the back case, you could make part of the back case permanent, or make it possible for people to mail order the part customized for their device, or order iron-on decals, or... there are various ways to solve that problem.
For anyone unconvinced should the EU also mandate that the RAM in smartphones be user replaceable as well?
That would be a disaster. There are real power and performance wins from having RAM on-die. And by the time you need more RAM, you'll probably want a newer CPU. Now if you mean flash *storage*, then... maybe.
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Except when they swell up and become dangerous.
And then the phone isn't waterproof either. Adhesive based seals only work when something's not heating up and pushing it apart.
To be honest, I'm not even sure that some OLED phones don't get hot enough to soften the adhesive on their own when used in sunlight.
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Personally I would think the average user kills their battery long before the software support ends
Up until very recently. Some of the newest laptops and flagship phones avoid charging past 80% now unless you need it. And even the displayed 100% is lower than the true capacity. This is the best thing you can do for battery longevity is to eliminate the extreme ends of the charge cycle.
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Just to add, my 2nd Generation Nest thermostat was I think 11 years old when it was force-disabled by Google last year. The lithium battery was still good. They only charged it to 50-60% or something like that. Good hardware design before Google took over very much.
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Being any kind of waterproof requires a sealed device and replaceable parts directly conflict with that.
The Kyocera HydroVIBE I had from 2015-2021 was IP57 certified - protection against dust and water immersion for up to 30 minutes in up to 3.28 feet (1 meter) of water - and had a headphone jack with an easily replaceable 2000mAh Li-ion battery, micro-sd and sim all under a removable back cover, with a gasket. It was smaller (l/w) and not that much thicker than the Pixel 5a I replaced it with and still have.
Re:Welcome (Score:5, Insightful)
What were you expecting? Being any kind of waterproof requires a sealed device and replaceable parts directly conflict with that.
Gaskets have existed for a long, long time. I have waterproof watches with replaceable batteries from back in the 80s. Waterproof to the point I wore them swimming all the time and never had a problem. Your statement is directly out of the corporate brainwashing material they use to support their make-believe universe where user replacement / repairability is impossible in usable products. If they could make a waterproof watch, an arguably *MUCH* smaller product, with replaceable batteries forty years ago, they can make a waterproof phone today with replaceable batteries.
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I recently bought a kit to replace a battery in my diving watch; which included a new gasket and silicon. Dove 3 times since without an issue.
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As opposed to a portable speaker that I had to pitch because the battery was impossible to extract due to a bunch of glue that was spread over it and its connectors.
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I have a Minolta waterproof camera that has a gasketed battery compartment. Rated to 5m depth. It also has a gasketed compartment where you are supposed to put something called "flim". Both seem to be well sealed.
If they could make a waterproof watch, an arguably *MUCH* smaller product
Watches are supposed to be huge. In order to make the wearer look like a pencil-wristed manlet.
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Samsung used to make waterproof phones where you could replace the battery. I'd give up the ability to fully submerge if it meant the battery could be swapped out.
For me it's a big deal. I had a hell of a time replacing my Pixel XL battery. I'm keeping that thing alive forever, because it has unlimited full quality photo uploads to Google Photos.
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Check https://volla.online/en/volla-... [volla.online]
>Casing and battery
>Resistant to millitary standard MIL-STD-810H and IP68 dust and waterproof, yet with a self replacable, long lasting 5000 mAh battery for long outdoor activities.
and it works, tested several times, both underwater and replace the battery (actually replace cards, as it requires batery removal... the battery is still fine)
so no, you can have IP68 and replace batteries, just design it for that objective
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This is the usual way the EU does this stuff. They don't get too specific, they let courts figure that out and update their rules if necessary.
It is disappointing that waterproof devices are not included, like IP68 phones. Then again I wonder if IP68 rating is enough to claim that, because typically if they say IP68 and you submerge the phone, they don't want to fix it under warranty. IP68 means a water jet, so I suppose it's not actually submersion, but I think a manufacturer might have a hard time arguing it with a court that is likely to side with the consumer's understanding of words like "waterproof".
Which is why water resistant is term of choice, since it does not imply 100% impervious to water intrusion and damage.
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IP68 means a water jet
I don't know why this myth persists. No, IP66 means water jet. IP67 is temporary immersion up to 1m, and IP68 is continuous immersion beyond 1m with a test condition >30min. Presumably because IP69 talks about high pressure jets again (but this time at temperature).
Note: IP68 does *NOT* imply protection against water jets from all angles. That's why the IP66/68 rating exists.
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I misremembered. It's been some years since I did it.
We found that submersion to 10cm was often worse than submersion beyond 1m. I think it was the lack of compression on gaskets. Our pre-compliance test was a drainpipe blocked off at the bottom, and string.
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It's not just you though. You see this kind of comment literally everywhere. For some reason people confuse IP66 and IP68, and always have. I even went and looked up the standard yesterday seeing if it changed in some past revision and it didn't so no idea where this came from.
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my phone (volla X23) is ip68 waterproof (and i works, i tested several times) and have a replaceable battery, so being ip68 is not really a blocker for user replaceable batteries
Synths too (Score:5, Interesting)
I've kept my Roland synth from 1989, and there are people with synths much older than that. While never massively user-serviceable as a genre, this is the first time I can think of that there's a definite life span on these things. Just like a phone, eventually this battery is going to wear out and have severely reduced capacity. I have to imagine that, as with vintage synths or older phones, someone will probably start a service for replacing the battery but wouldn't it be nice if they didn't have to and the design had been thought of in advance?
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It looks like it's just some Phillips screws to get it open and a standard lithium polymer battery with a JST connector. I found a video of a guy changing out the battery using his Swiss army knife. That's very user replaceable by the EU standard.
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It's relevance to this conversation though is that it has a built-in, non-user replaceable battery
No it doesn't. It has a non-first party purchasable battery. The actual battery replacement involves opening 6 screws, disconnecting the battery from a connector, connecting a new one and putting 6 screws in. This is user replaceable for even some pretty useless ham-fisted users. I do think we need to go back to a realisation that swapping a rechargeable battery is a "repair" and it's okay to expect someone to be able to pickup a #1 Philips-head screwdriver to do that.
Now Roland not providing the battery as
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Now Roland not providing the battery as a spare part to purchase,
Not sure what size battery that uses. But I'd be surprised if it wasn't a "standard" size available at "Batteries +Bulbs". In which case, many manufacturers just figure "why bother". Some will even direct you to a common equivalent part number.
no thank you (Score:1)
please keep my airpods and accessories as small and light as possible. i do not care if i have to buy a new pair once every 8 years. keep them cheap(ish) and functional. an waterproof. please do not fuck up waterproofing just because some people *THINK* they want to change batteries.
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I want to know why this legislation thinks it's a good idea to mandate replaceable batteries on tiny devices like earbuds, but there's just no room or appetite for phones or tablets.
If anything, I want the replaceable battery on my phone so I don't have to replace it as often, or get gouged looking for parts to fix it myself. A decent phone could last 5 years instead of 2 with this simple change, which is why the phone manufacturers really don't want to do that.
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Pretty much every phone is already mostly compliant, with the exception of little things like Apple's nice heat release glue.
Earbuds are generally not compliant because they're ultrasonically welded shut. They're really where improvements need to be made, but of course they're also the place where improvements are the hardest.
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Anakin, Silent in a Meadow (Score:2)
"Robust, waterproof devices should not have to come at the expense of user-replaceable batteries."
But they ARE waterproof, right?
Battery Warranty (Score:5, Interesting)
This is about reducing ewaste, so how about phasing it in by requiring increasingly long warranty periods for non-replaceable batteries?
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This is about reducing ewaste, so how about phasing it in by requiring increasingly long warranty periods for non-replaceable batteries?
Why? Replacing a battery on any phone is trivial, and some companies (e.g. Apple) even sell you a battery along with a kit to do so. Now sure it actually requires a bit of skill, but that skill is available about as readily as a car mechanic is.
While I'm in favour of legally mandated minimum warranties like those which exist in the EU, the longer you make them the more the normal users end up subsidising the power users who should be expected to pay for their abnormal device use. (The reason I know how easy
Standardized battery formats needed (Score:2)
maybe try to have at least one flat battery standard.
Maybe has somekind of incentive to use it.
e.g. sold separately to make the device cheaper
apple laptops will they do it or just pay the fine (Score:2)
apple laptops will they do it or just pay the fine?
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apple laptops will they do it or just pay the fine?
Given the ambiguity in the rules, it’s possible many Apple laptops already comply in that an end use can open the device and swap the battery, although it is not easy. The commercially available tools could be interpreted as long as the manufacturer offers for sale to anyone tools need to do the repair, they are commercially available and meet the letter of the law. I suspect, for most end users, the cost and difficulty will mean they forgo the DIY repair. A 3rd party shop might be able to afford i
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With Apple, they will rent tools to end users and only if they self-certify that they aren't hiring any professional help in the process. Independent shops can't even buy the tools.
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With Apple, they will rent tools to end users and only if they self-certify that they aren't hiring any professional help in the process. Independent shops can't even buy the tools.
From what I can tell, Apple will currently sell their expensive tools to anyone, as well as rent them. Getting th tools needed to compete with Apple using genuine parts and tools would be a sizable investment and thus most shops are unlikely to be able to afford such an investment. I suspect shops that can are generally already Apple Authorized Resellers, so in the ned Right to Repair doesn't mean I Can Cheaply and Easily Fix My Device.
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I don't think there's anything in an Apple laptop to make it non-compliant. You need a torx screwdriver, and a spudger is kind of handy. If you want your speakers to not rattle afterward you also want a bit of double sided tape.
Apple's interpretation of "commercially available" (Score:2)
Here is the all new and shiny iScrew!
The iScrew driver is available in 5 different formats starting at a mere 249.99$ each and has an AWESOME minimalist design. Depending on the device on which you want to replace the battery, you may need the whole kit, available for only 999.99$
And don't forget the new iBattery! Available for less than a cup of (Starbucks) coffee per day!
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"The fine" is not an one-time thing and it will escalate, up to and including a prohibition to sell. So yes, Apple will cave, same as everybody else. Nobody wants to lose the European market.
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Until they find another way - or loophole - to planned obsolescence.
That's their business model. Having fools line-up in front of their stores when new models launch.
Oh boo hoo (Score:1)
so there will likely be nothing to stop manufacturers requiring the sorts of less common screws that require dedicated electronics tool kits.
A lot of these toolkits [amazon.com] are pretty nice these days, and definitely affordable.
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Yes. Really not a problem anymore. Everything that is somewhat standard is available. And they are NOT allowed to invent their own.
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A lot of these toolkits
Which present their own Zen riddle: How do you replace the batteries in the electric screwdriver?
Seriously: Who would buy an electric screwdriver for a once a year job like this? OK if you have your own repair shop. But around the house, I can afford to twist the manual type myself.
About time (Score:2)
I have been insisting for those at least for phone and laptop, but a somewhat larger selection in models would be nice.
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Why? Are you too ham fisted to open the phone and replace it yourself, and equally too tight to pay someone $20 to do the basic repair for you?
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Well, as usual you are being an idiot. I like to put in original replacement parts when the part is a fire-risk, because for these there is a high chance of early warning and a recall. I am sure you prefer getting some "compatible" batteries off Aliexpress or something and burning down your house is fine with you.
This is good governance (Score:4, Insightful)
I know Ipod batteries replacable--Apple doesn't. (Score:2)
By this definition iPhones and iPads are compliant (Score:1)
I've used my iFixit toolkit to replace batteries and screens on Apple devices for years. So the tools and parts are already available to do your own repairs.
Distinction between blocking and difficulty (Score:2)
I recently bought a small spot-welder in addition to soldering iron. I have already used it to replace NiMH batteries for things like hair trimmer and those solar-powered garden lights. They use the pretty standard AA form factor, so cutting the wires, removing the old battery, soldering the wires to nickel strips and then soldering those to the battery are not too difficult.
Haven't tried to replace lithium battery cells yet, but should also be doable as long as the BMS stays intact and proper care is taken
EU only scenario (Score:2)
The battery dimensions are in millimeters. You can print out the user guide on standard A4 paper. Nothing personal.
so many gadgets have built-in batteries (Score:2)
I reviewed all the gadgets in my house that have batteries. Not just non-replaceable or rechargeable, but ALL batteries. I'm a bit tech-heavy here so I was expecting there to be a lot, but the final count still surprised me. (and I'm still finding stragglers from time to time)
The "biggest offenders" I have are flashlights. I've got a few cheap "webcam" lights, as well as several house flashlights that all use built-in lipo pouches, which I can replace, but not the average consumer. And I've had to repla
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Re-assembling a device without damaging high-pressure waterproofing is a delicate operation. Without dedicated tools and experience, it is not a consumer-replaceable part.
Every fortnight, I collect six devices (with built-in batteries) and put them on a charger for a few days: They're Ni-MH or Lithium based. Every second or third month I re-charge an additional six devices (with built-in batteries). Everything else is button-cell or I remove the standard batteries, until n
Re: (Score:2)
According to my notes, I have here:
Those are not battery cells, those are devices. So for example, 16 of my AA devices use six AAs. (I have a crap-ton of NiMH AA, well over 100) and all of my C devices use at least three cells. So, sadly for me, there's a huge amount to keep an eye on. I realize I'm somewhat of an
Re: (Score:2)
(that 16 is 16 of my NiMH AA devices, part of the 20 "nicd/nimh cells")
Short expected life time (Score:2)
In my opinion, the reason why phones abandoned replaceable batteries was at least partially because phones were being replaced so often.
If your batteries last 4-6 years, depending on useage, and most people are replacing phones every 5 years because the new ones did more, then most people stopped replacing batteries. The phone companies saw the numbers and just stopped making replaceable batteries.
Yes this did screw over financially wise people that thought replacing a perfectly good phone was stupid even
Will be Apple device say: (Score:2)
"Designed by the European Union. Assembled in China"?
Excellent consequences (Score:2)
One excellent consequence of this change is that you will be able to remove the battery from your phone and insure that it is really powered off. Currently, our phones continue to monitor us and send information back to Google whether they are powered on or not.
replaceable battery (Score:2)