Android

another EU win!!!

I do miss being able to swap out a phone battery and this will certainly be a step in the right direction in terms ewaste and device longevity.

One thing that I wonder about is waterproofing or water resistance. Some phones are basically waterproof in shallow water. How achievable is this with a device with a trivial way to remove the battery?

Although this is obviously a step in the right direction it needs to be followed up with security updates, no point increasing the life of the hardware without doing the same for the software.

Now make SD cards mandatory and you've got something really good.

If this goes through, I think it would be really good news. Battery failure is one of the leading things that force people to replace their smartphones, and having them be replaceable would go a long way towards making smartphones last longer.

It might lead to thicker phones, but battery and/or SW obsolescence are the main reasons I have been swapping phone in the last 10 years.

Finally! Now to also force phonemakers to universally provide bootloader unlocks so we can put our own ROMs on our devices once the software support ends.

And now they just have to force manufacturers to either at least security patch devices for, let's say 10 years, or force them to open source everything the community needs to continue supporting this device. It never happened to me that the battery died before support ended.

Just had that issue with my Pixel 3a XL. No more security updates. Had to replace it with a Pixel 6a but I liked the 3a XL more. It there was any community support for the 3a XL, I would rather sell my 6a again.

Honestly, with Apple making it incredibly fucking hard to take out their batteries with excessive amounts of glue, I'm okay with this.

I can’t wait to hear the Apple marketing word for this feature. They’ll add some gimmick like the battery is held in with magnets and say “We call it MagPack and we think you’re going to love it.”

Fingers crossed that this will be implemented well, im tired of having sleek electronics be irrelevant in 2 years when the silicon could go for 5 or six

Hooray! Younger generations will finally be able to experience the joy of dropping their phone and having to pick up three to four different pieces! /s

(I'm all for this change, by the way)

My last phone bit the dust because I made the mistake of taking it apart to repair it. It became a gluey piece of garbage. If I want it be waterproof I'll stick it in a sandwich bag. Or maybe the manufacturer can use the novel tech of gaskets.

huge W

Fairphone 3 user here. My main reason to choose this phone a few years ago was because the battery could easily be replaced. Too many phones are perfectly functional but the battery is half dead. Another boon of non-glued batteries : You can carry two (or more) batteries to easily switch when the first one is KO. Meaning no need for portable charger and useless cables in your pocket. Phone at 10% ? Just change it, bam 100% in a second. Easy as that.

I'll probably not be the target of such regulations because I wouldn't choose an anti-consumer phone brand anyway, but at least it's going in the right direction.

About bloody time! Devices these days are so far technically advanced, no need to upgrade every 2 years. I can hold onto a phone for easily 3-5 years. Especially with hot swap batteries!

Good! I loved having removable batteries, especially while traveling. Just carry a charged battery and hotswap them instead of having to find a plug to camp by for 30-60 minutes

LET'S GOOOOO

Wow ; thats pretty amazing - now I have even more respect for them thinking ahead and going after the USB-C ports first... this could force manufacturers to give us a better product - I'll be watching this.

Excellent! Batteries in modern phones are surprisingly definitely removable and replaceable. I've done it multiple times. However, the unfriendly barrier to entry is glue and clips that require careful prying with spugers. It's quite clear manufacturers are happy blocking you getting in; plenty people just buy new phones when the battery gets too old.

Phones are getting more expensive so people are holding on to them longer, so it's a nice quality of life improvement to remove the barriers to battery replacement so less people have to go down to a phone repair store to get it changed. The more of a hassle battery replacement is seen the more likely people are to just upgrade and create e-waste.

W move for the EU. Very glad they're mandating stuff that should have been common place to begin with (ex. USB C on iPhones).

Misleading title. Phones can still be glued. Waterproof phones still don't need to have a user replaceable battery (the battery needs to be replaceable but by professionals).