withersailorEuropean Union votes to bring back replaceable phone batteries
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 it’s 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), it’s still the most enjoyable phone I’ve 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 “Dynamic Island”).
I wouldn’t say I use my phone for productivity, but I do just play and consume content with it when I’m 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 you’re giving up some space to have a battery that’s 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.