withersailorEuropean Union votes to bring back replaceable phone batteries
rysiekYes! π₯³
SteinsprutLaughing in Fairphone
Same! But the beauty of it is that this effectively creates a competitive advantage for Fairphone. Fairphone is already compliant, while all other smartphone companies will have to develop this from ~scratch.
Doesn't work on US networks IIRC.
YozulDepends on where you live and what service provider you use. There is quite a bit of overlap between European and American cell frequencies, but it's not something you can just assume will work.
snowbellStill bummed they wont bring these to the USA
Itβs unfortunate that Fairphone sucks in other ways (such as having limited firmware updates due to using an old SoC, as I understand it).
SkelectusAnd the headphone jack. Et tu Fairphone
The main problem with Fairphone is... It won't come to the US. However, I am very happy that this will affect Apple, because I am making the switch from Android to iOS. I know that Apple won't be stupid enough to have two separate plants, one to make EU Compatible phones, and one to make Global phones.
The costs for such a thing would be inordinately high even for Apple.
Nah, the main problem of the FairPhone is it's water resistance. Which is the lowest of low. Not quite sustainable in that regard: youre always one wet pocket away from disaster'
Holy Shit if that holds up it will have massive consequences
bouncingI don't really see the benefit anymore. My current device lasts ~40 hours on a charge, so I seldom find the need to swap anything out. Even if I did, those little USB battery packs that charge multiple devices are more practical. On a long flight, my wife and I just share one and it works on the Switch and tablet too.
Sealed devices have way better water resistance, less plastic makes the batteries themselves bigger, and wireless charging (especially with magnets) will be challenging to add to a battery that's also the back cover.
I'm sure I'll be in the minority on this, but, I don't really have any interest in a removable battery, especially if it involves other compromises on size, capacity, and features.
I see it as a longevity thing.
Sure you can bring another battery pack with you and charge your device from it, but at some point your internal battery will be degraded enough that it essentially needs to be plugged in to function, which is not feasible.
Being able to easily replace the thing in the device that wears out fastest is a good thing.
Granted I expect if this does go through, that mfg will make the battery hard to replace by other means (ie drm locks) making sure they can nickel and dime the consumer all the way.
As long as they're reasonably replaceable, I don't see it as a big issue for longevity. I'd rather have a bigger battery (less plastic casing), wireless charging w/ magsafe, better water resistance, etc.
If the battery is toast 3 years in, I can just replace it, which I've done on other devices (including my last Pixel). It's not much more inconvenient than taking a car in for an oil change. Besides, on my 18 month old phone, capacity is at 95%. These days batteries often last as long as you'll need them.
I see the much bigger longevity issue on the software side. Many phones (especially budget ones) only get 1 major OS upgrade and very infrequent security upgrades.
Drew Got No ClueYou mentioned MagSafe, so I assume you use an iPhone. I have an iPhone 12 mini and the battery life is awful. I love the phone, but I cannot recommend it to power users due to the battery life (the 13 mini should be significantly better, but I cannot confirm).
I've owned for a bit over 2 years and I have 80% battery health, and I need to charge it multiple times per day. The battery is small and due to the form factor / design, it heats up quickly, further degrading the battery, especially if charging >5W.
I suspect this plays into why small flagships are mostly a thing of the past.
I think itβs almost only because of an increasing amount of people using phones as their main multimedia and productivity device, hence the need for larger screens.
Such a shame, because battery aside (which is supposedly better in the 13), itβs still the most enjoyable phone Iβve had in a very long time. The size is extremely convenient for me and I believe iOS works best at this display size; even the home screen on an iPhone Pro Max shows the same amount of information as my Mini and likewise for the status bar (except for the models with a βDynamic Islandβ).
I wouldnβt say I use my phone for productivity, but I do just play and consume content with it when Iβm board. So for me, the biggest screen I can fit and hold is the best one.
The added battery life is just gravy.
at some point your internal battery will be degraded enough that it essentially needs to be plugged in to function, which is not feasible.
In the majority of devices the device will be obsolete before the battery is degraded to the point of being unusable.
That depends, if you buy a flagship device then in 5 years it will probably still be quite usable, but the battery could already be shot.
My phone (not even a flagship model) is coming up on 4 years old and it's still pretty fast and on the newest Android version (yay custom ROMs), but the battery now struggles to get me through a regular day, so it will probably need to be replaced soon.
I agree. I've has to scrap and force upgrade multiple devices over the years, solely due to the battery dying quickly. Definitely a built in obsolescence built into the industry that needs to be fixed.
danDefinitely a built in obsolescence built into the industry that needs to be fixed.
This is why I'm a fan of the right to repair and wish more jurisdictions would enact laws around it. If the EU ends up having stricter regulations than the rest of the world, it's possible manufacturers will just end up having totally different models in EU vs elsewhere.
Sealed devices have way better water resistance
My dive computer has a user replaceable battery, and it's waterproof to more than 250ft.
This is just a non-argument to me.
And has a shit ton of casing.
The fact that you'd want a dive computer to be waterproof beyond 3 feet might have something to do with that, though.
Either way youβre giving up some space to have a battery thatβs easily replaced.
Barely.
It doesn't even have to be easily replaceable as in: on the go, so that I can switch out batteries during the day. That's really not important to me.
It just has to be user replaceable, so that I can switch it out at home, with normal tools, when the battery has degraded so much that the phone becomes unusable.
As things are, i have to throw a disproportionate amount of money at some shop to switch out a $10 part, or risk breaking the screen and digitizer when I disassemble the phone with a suction cup and hot gun, just so I can get at the glued down battery.
That's just ridiculous to me.
GadgeteerZAGreat news! No point in 5 or 6 years of software updates when the battery gives out after 3 years.
I've replaced some "non replaceable" batteries in phones before... Only to find that after about 5 years of medium use the flash storage goes to shit (which causes massive slow downs), the chips begin to desolder themselves, the USB port gets janky and stops charging, etc.
Batteries are a great first step, but damn these $1000+ devices just are not built to last more than 3 years
Yes I'm thinking next time around to go for a good mid-range. Considering the time that phones actually last, it's too much to pay for flagship phones.
GormadtNot too mention what even is the point of getting a flagship?
The cameras are great on most phones, the specs are good enough for most people's use case (call, text, social media).
Hell the last few years the consistently best rated phone camera by users has been the Pixel A series of phones. The budget Pixel phones.
The only reason I got my flagship Sony Xperia is because it still had a headphone jack, sd slot, and no notch. It was expensive but everything I wanted. Last phone was an iPhone 6s. I wish there was cheaper options honestly for what I'm looking for but those 3 combinations don't seem to exist other than Sony.
I feel you on that
I miss the days of sd slots, headphone jacks, and removable batteries.
Phone cameras are pretty good now though and the Xperia has a damn good one
shanghaibebopHonestly, they are pretty damn stressed devices though.
If you think about it, they are on 24/7, with active usage at least 4-6 hours a day, exposed to god knows what humidity, unknown low and high temps, dropped every x days. Itβs a modern technological miracle that they last as long as they do. Lots of read and writes with photo and video backups.
My 5 year old X died a month back (flash memory failed), I was actually impressed that it lasted that long.
Very true. Amazing technology we take for granted
Butterbee (She/Her)Which makes sense since they were expecting the batteries to poop out earlier
Yeah, that's the problem with these things: they're wasting assets. If you want maximum longevity on your phone, not only do you need replaceable batteries but to purchase the absolute maximum storage so you can benefit from wear leveling on the flash. And even then, it will still slowly degrade over time.
Google tried to build a modular phone and ended up cancelling the project in part because these systems are essentially an SOC surrounded by support hardware. Still, I'd buy a modular phone or at least one that allowed swappable batteries because Android phones are still a beast on battery thanks to all the background services and large, power hungry screens.
SpitfireWouldnβt this affect water resistance? One argument for βsealedβ devices is better protection against water/dust/debris.
Iβm all for allowing easier replacements and repairs for the consumer (No reason a device should be unusable after a few years due to a battery), but I can see this issue being brought up.
Th Galaxy S5 and the Active versions before it were waterproof and had a removable back to get to the replaceable battery pack.
As an added bonus, the back had a rough, soft plastic surface so you could actually hold onto it without a case.
It was early in wireless charging, but the back could be replaced with one that haf the charging coil.
OsvaldoilustradorOh yeah! this is more than welcome imo, honestly
non-replaceable batterys are also safety hazard. what if one starts swelling up due to age or fault? Only reason why they started doing that is so phones would become unusable faster.
ParallaxTo be fair though, I've never heard of a modern phone battery swelling. That's something that will happen years after it's EOL, and at that point the company is no longer obligated to supply a replacement (as ideal as that would be).
An integrated battery allows the company to minimize the size and design of the phone. It's not 100% greed and planned obsolescence, though its virtually guaranteed those are components of the design decision.
I want replaceable batteries too. But I want them to be standard so I don't need 3 chargers for each company's phone. And I want them to be sleek like modern phones so they fit in my hand and pocket like I'm familiar with.
It is/was a huge problem with the Pixel 3
curaIt happened to my Pixel 4a.
at least eu already made usb-c the standard
President_PyrusWell, who doesn't like some spicy pillows?
This is a step in the right direction, but because phones are now extremely sophisticated they frequent need security updates, but phone manufacturers only support a phone for about 3 years that also needs tackling because that will also help reduce ewaste.
Five years software support are mandatory in the EU. Germany wanted at least seven but couldn't convince the rest
nickkI wonder how something like this could affect waterproofing.
I don't know. But for instance for the jack port, charger port, mic and speakers this hasn't been an issue, so I'd wager it will be fine.
The Galaxy S5 from almost a decade ago had little issues with waterproofing IIRC, and it had a replaceable battery
I'm pretty confident the manufacturers can hit the ground running with a sleek waterproof device with a replaceable battery - they can even do what LG did and make the battery slide out the bottom, if they want to keep a solid glass back.
Hell it even had a headphone jack
lemillionsocksThere are plenty of devices with removable batteries that are water proof. A gasket and some screws should do the trick.
Same, this is by far my number one concern. I use my phone as a GPS on my motorcycle which is my primary vehicle so I ride in the rain a lot too.
A small o-ring and something to clamp the battery/battery case down would be more than enough to make these phones as water resistant as current phones. If they lose water resistance, it's because the company's trying to be shitty
XCover 1 & 2 had gasket and a screw and those were IP67 certified. And personally, I prefer phones that are bit more thicc ;)
This is great. I have the Fairphone 4, which does have a couple of issues, but the fact that the battery can be replaced will increase the usable lifespan of the phone.
I have a Pixel 2 used for messing about with Lineage, but the battery only lasts fifteen minutes, but is otherwise still a great phone. If it was easy enough to swap out that battery, I'd probably still be using it as my main.
SilvallyWhat issues did you have with the Fairphone?
I see a couple of other people talking about them in this thread too so I checked out their website and it seems like a great concept honestly but I'd like to know if any issues to possibly expect if you wouldn't mind sharing.
I donβt believe they can provide firmware updates once the chipset loses support, which is bad for security. (The same also applies for every other manufacturer, but Fairphone claims to update their phones for a longer time).
corporateHippieI recommend checking out Fairphone. The phone is completely modular so when something breaks, you can buy a new part and replace it yourself.