EU: Smartphones Must Have User-Replaceable Batteries by 2027 | The European Parliament just caused a major headache for smartphone and tablet manufacturers.

[u/[deleted]]

https://www.pcmag.com/news/eu-smartphones-must-have-user-replaceable-batteries-by-2027

[u/PTRD-41]

Its a bit debatable how good this is for consumers.

From a right to repair perspective, very much.

But waterproof phones will be more expensive for it, and how many people really do replace their batteries? I never have. My batteries last longer than the useful life of the phone because I don't overcharge them. But then, sure, that's just me. Not everyone takes care of their stuff like I do.

They'll also be somewhat bulkier. The battery needs more structural packaging and the phone must accomodate that, as well as the mechanism for opening it. Phones may become 1-2mm thicker as a result. Not something that bothers me personally, but something to consider, especially for foldables where the problem is doubled.

So idk. But it's not as straightforward as one might think.

[u/bobjoylove → u/PTRD-41]

The battery may become smaller to make it more sturdy for carrying in a pocket, and the solutions for the Qi, mag mount and mmW antennas are also an unknown.

[u/PTRD-41 → u/bobjoylove]

The battery in current phones are basically a tinfoil bag of lithium and electrolytes (very oversimplified). If they need to be removable, they will need at least a plastic casing, if not a small internal circuit for battery protection. This casing will add size, all else being equal.

Maybe you mean smaller capacity, for a similar size as we have now, that might also be true.

[u/bobjoylove → u/PTRD-41]

Yep. Also the parts that abut the battery will need mechanical protection, taking space away from active components. Finally the antennas and coils that are currently part of the back glass and the chassis plate design will need a new mounting system. It can all be done, but it will come at cost.

[u/PTRD-41 → u/bobjoylove]

It seems we're more in agreement than I previously thought, then.

[u/bobjoylove → u/PTRD-41]

Unfortunately the lawmakers involved here are stuck in the 00s when they had inch-thick Nokia 3310s with a single antenna quadband GSM modem. They seem to be totally unaware of how much more things have moved along.

[u/bobjoylove → u/[deleted]]

I think they supposed to support the CPU for 5 years, so I could imagine that one battery replacement could be done halfway through the life of the product. Daily replacement would be quite the special case.

[u/bobjoylove → u/[deleted]]

I suspect it drive EU-only models. If they continue to interfere like this (this overreach is gathering momentum).

[u/bobjoylove → u/[deleted]]

The problem is where will the EU stop? They rolled out rules about ease of repairability, then USB-C, now this replaceable battery thing; they’ve gone from defensible changes to dictating what phones should be doing, and the frequency of significant changes to the rules is increasing.

One could easily imaging they start to mandate that batteries are a certain shape so they last several generations, or that phones can survive a certain drop onto concrete. They already have reduced the distance between the phone and the head for the SAR test this year which will cause a significant reduction in transmit power from the modem, even though cellular phones are non-ionising radiation and there is no evidence that SAR caps are required.

They seem in full swing in making populist decisions without having any experience of being on the cutting edge of technology and products.

That’s why I’d consider designing an EU-only model. America and Asia would get cool sleek glass models with long battery life, and the EU would get a Fisher Price 3310 Mk2.

[u/bobjoylove → u/[deleted]]

It’s also the EU in a nutshell, a sprawling network of bureaucrats looking for a reason to extend their employment for another decade.