TL;DR
- The European Council has ended its adoption procedure for rules related to phones with replaceable batteries.
- By 2027, all phones released in the EU must have a battery the user can easily replace with no tools or expertise.
- The regulation intends to introduce a circular economy for batteries.
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Hopefully this doesn’t go the way of charging cables and we have a different battery shape for every phone… Otherwise a 2040 regulation will be to standardize battery shape(s)
Battery shape (and connector) will sadly still be a thing for a long time, and usually it’s for engineering reasons, so I don’t really think it will be possible to standardize it
We really should just adopt the “best one” that becomes the standard. Only change it with significant advancement
There isn’t one “best one”. Always depends on requirements, which vary by device, underlying technology and use case.
It would certainly be ‘possible’ to standardize, I think that the costs would outweigh the benefits though.
We want phones that last a long time and we want innovation. Leaving the battery spec up to a regulatory board brings a very real risk of limiting phone design evolution and evolving battery tech.
IMO just having easily replaceable batteries is enough of a benefit that I wouldn’t mind the obvious drawbacks of non-standardization. It’s still a big leap forward for consumers compared to where we are today.
Well battery shapes will be custom, but the regulation does include demand to offer said batteries as spare parts.
shall ensure that those batteries are available as spare parts of the equipment that they power for a minimum of five years after placing the last unit of the equipment model on the market, with a reasonable and non-discriminatory price for independent professionals and end-users.
This being EU, EU will actually even police that reasonability clause via consumer protection agencies. You might not like the still probably pretty hefty price, but outright monopoly price gouging will not be allowed. Atleast not with in EU jurisdiction. Also makers will tend to gravitate to number of pretty standard battery sizes and geometries. Simply out of economies of scale. If you have to offer the batteries available as spares. You don’t want to offer 150 different battery models on you warehousing and supply to your retail stores. You want as few as possible. Maybe say 5 different sizes or maybe couple ten different kinds on the biggest makers with the largest product range. Cheaper to buy more of similar batteries from battery supplier, than have custom module developed for each new phone model. Well unless one is apple and only has couple new models per year. They probably will have now just little bit different optimized shape battery for each models, but they also have the scale per model to make sense for that.
also:
Software shall not be used to impede the replacement of a portable battery or LMT battery, or of their key components, with another compatible battery or key components.
Meaning companies can’t use software locks to deny third party batteries. Since the language says compatible battery, not replacement battery. Which wouldn’t make sense anyway, since replacement battery would be the one the OEM offers. Ofcourse I’m sure there will be lot of hurdur by makers over “don’t use third party batteries, those aren’t as safe” and “well but that isn’t compatible”. However as one remembers during the early 2000’s and upto mid 2010’s there was a very healthy both OEM and third party replacement battery market. As with that experience, yes shoddy batteries from non-reputable people can be problem. However in this basic consumer electronic safety regulation (aka you can’t just shovel anything to the market with utterly nuts unsafe circuitry in the first place) and the market itself handles it. Again it will be found out over little time, which makers are the reputable ones with the good batteries with all the proper safeties and good production quality. Reputable big chain electronics dealers then focus on only offering the established reputable third party batteries and parts out of their own reputation (You sold me a shoddy battery. I burst and ruined my phone. I’m never buying from this phone store ever again). Plus same with the actual makers with stuff like offering extensive warranties, warranting the replacement of the device, if their battery messes it up and so on.
This is all “we have already been here” ground except instead of the T9 numpad on the phone front, there is now a whole front covering touch screen on it’s place.
The headline says it’s official. But then the article mentions -
Now, the only step left is for the European Council and Parliament to sign on the dotted line.
So it’s not official?? Can anyone explain please??
It is a special day when there is happy tech news. This is a day for celebration. Having done my own battery replacements some have been a nightmare to do with all the glue and hoping the screen doesn’t break. I look forward to this, since with rise of phone costs I don’t intend to update frequently. I’d actually change my battery annually if it wasn’t such a hassle.
Now we just need headphone jacks and SD cards and lineageos support and my dream phone will be mandated.
Not having SD card is real painful.
Xperia phones have headphone jacks and SD cards. Pretty sure you can install lineage on them as well.
I pretty much stopped using my phone for audio when they got rid of the headphone jack.
Wireless headphones still aren’t great and most are uncomfortable. It’s super annoying keeping them charged and they are so expensive when you consider how short their lifespan is.
I listen to certain YouTube videos to get to sleep and have for years and years. Wireless ear buds just aren’t in the cards for something like that.
I’m in a similar boat. The only time I do plug in headphones (via the usb port) is on nights I’m having a very hard time fall asleep. But I do that at the expense of being able to charge my phone 😔
Man, that sucks. One of the other things for me is that you can buy decent headphones for like seven bucks with a 3.5mm jack. Most USB headsets are going to be a lot more expensive.
Does your phone support qi charging? That could be a solution if it does.
Your force open drivers would be really cool.
if this makes batteries smaller so be it
let’s go back to 2012 and carry a few of them at a time
Something I found really interesting in Tokyo was that there are just places where you can rent a power pack to charge your phone.
I don‘t know how to feel about this. While It’s nice to be able to replace the battery, I very much prefer the durability of todays phones over those flimsy removable back plates that used to be common in the 00s.
I really hope they mean that no special tools/skill are required. They should just standardize one type of micro screwdriver that everyone has to use.
Replaceable batteries inevitably also have to be sturdier s.t. they don‘t pose a fire hazard, making the entire phone bulkier or reducing battery life.
My iPhone XR is now over 4 years old and battery capacity is still at 80%, getting me through the day easily.
Before that I had an iPhone 4s where I replaced the battery after ~6 years. I was really disappointed with the new battery and ended up buying a new phone anyway after a few weeks.My phone is the device that I use the most by a huge margin. It doesn‘t bother me too much if I have to replace it every 5-6 years. And I‘m pretty environmetally conscious in general.
Yeah those old Nokia’s are notoriously flimsy because of the removable batteries 🤦♂️
Yeah. If you owned one and don’t get all your information from memes on reddit, they were incredibly flimsy. It was all cheap ass plastic that was clipped in, they would break and your phone would be heald together by hopes and dreams.
Gee, I can’t understand how my lgg3 is still in one piece, what with that replaceable battery making it so flimsy.
It’s almost as if I’m imagining it being able to turn on because it fell apart when I sat it on the table three years ago.
Good thing it broke back then! Otherwise, I might have spent tens of dollars on replacement batteries each year!
Not to mention all the tablets that broke because they were flimsy with replaceable batteries. The galaxytab 2 and 3 alone would have blown up from materials fatigue if I’d replaced those batteries over the years. Whew, what a relief I don’t have to have them in use as digital picture frames like I would have otherwise.
My Galaxy S5 never felt flimsy. It was even highly waterproof for the time because it had a COVER for the USB Port attached to the phone! It even had a gasp HEADPHONE JACK!
Of my last three phones battery has not been the issue I disposed. Mostly it is they grind to halt software wise as they fail to cope with newer apps expectations for storage or ram, I change my phone every 3 to 4 years.
I’m not getting my hopes up, but I’d like to see this influence the smartphones being sold in the US as well. One of the primary things that keeps me replacing my smartphones is battery life, so being able to replace the battery would be incredible.
Do you still have different charger plugs for each phone?
They should do the same for laptops
I think laptops are also covered.
Indeed in the article it says all battery powered devices… Does that also mean somehow headphones(wireless) earbuds, watches, etc
They have standard lithium ion sizes that are tiny; there’s no reason why they couldn’t add threading to earbuds so that you could unscrew them.
i really hope the framework already qualifies, would suck to lose that upgrade path
And electric cars. I wish you could swap a battery out at a gas station as easily as I can swap out a propane tank.
Good.
Sometimes the EU is just based af.
It’s kinda annoying and sad to see that EU have to make bills these days for basic things that android had a decade ago.
Why the hell do we need to wait for 2027 for this? Perfect amount of time for something like this to get overturned at the last minute.
How much time do you think it takes to design a new phone?
A week, because a car takes 5 years and a phone is 1/250 the size of a car?
Solid logic
Hang on, I’m going to take five minutes to invent some nano-technology that’ll cure all diseases.
Inb4 they make the batteries crap and proprietary.
Lol spot on
Now let me replace the operating system, have unified drivers and I’ll be fine with it
Although I support the idea, I’m not sure how useful this is for android phones. All android phones I’ve owned have long gone out of update support before the batteries have noticeably degraded.
4 years since the last update on my phone, I really don’t see why I would change unless core apps like Firefox were to stop working.
Software doesn’t stop working. Up to date software becomes so slow on obsolete hardware it makes you pull your hair out trying to use it.
Other than now lemmy, the only other apps I use are Firefox and email/messaging apps. Hardly need that much performance.
Security updates
- argv_minus_one ( @argv_minus_one@beehaw.org ) 1•2 years ago
Security. If your phone hasn’t been updated in 4 years, you can safely assume that it belongs to some overseas crime ring and they’re merely letting you borrow it.
Do you think smartphone manufacturers will still make them water resistant?
It might be harder to pull that off without making the phone thicker in the process, but still possible.
I don’t really care about thickness, though I would rather the thickness be used for a larger battery than for a replaceable battery.
Of course people been asking for that for years and they never do. So that part of larger battery in exchange for having an enclosed system has sailed long ago. It’s as likely as headphone jacks coming back.
Well headphone jacks should come back. I have a headphone jack on my Motorola g73, and it was one of the reasons I got it.
Yeah, I would be happy if it did, but flagships have sailed away in that department and budget pixels too which are great devices for those who want graphene or Calyx. I’ve given up on them ever becoming mainstream offerings again.
they never do.
You can get cell phones with gargantuan batteries, but you’re going to be getting off-brand phones out of China.
https://www.techradar.com/features/weve-tested-the-5g-smartphone-with-the-worlds-largest-battery
Just need a tray you pull out of the side of the device that contains the battery with a gasket and a latch. Like a really big SIM or SD card tray.
The manufacturers can take the space needed from the battery making them even smaller and just blame regulators for the change while maintaining roughly the same phone without the battery for the rest of the world. At least that’s what I imagine they’ll do because corporations are always slimy like that.
They might just abandon the water resistance and blame the regulators, that’s what I’m afraid of.
I’m sure that it’s possible to do both, though it’d eat even more space for gaskets or whatever.
Well some might. Then you are free to vote with wallet and move to the maker who still thinks water resistance and dust is good sell factor for phones. Market working like it’s supposed and so on. Within the guiding barriers market regulations.
Yes.
The Galaxy S5 was thin, water resistant, and had a removable battery.
