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https://www.slashgear.com/2107938/removable-battery-phones-making-comeback/
Many of today's mobile phones, like the slim iPhone Air, are lightweight and sleek, with an advanced design and the latest in modern technology. It's a far cry from previous models, which were bulkier, had buttons, and bulged in your pocket. But while mobile phones have evolved over the years, the current fixed-battery design is reverting to its old form, thanks to legislation from the European Union (EU). Based on these new guidelines, phones will once again need batteries that can be safely removed and replaced by the user.
The EU's legislation also mandates that replacement batteries, while meeting the device's technical specifications, not be bound by proprietary limits. This means that a phone must be able to accept a compatible battery that meets the device's safety and technical standards, whether or not it's manufacturer-branded. Plus, replacement batteries must be available to the user for at least 5 to 7 years following a model's end of production. The EU has placed a date of February 18, 2027, for these expectations to be met.
[...] The EU's new legislation requiring smartphones to have removable batteries accomplishes a few different things. First, allowing users to replace a spent battery with a new one helps extend the life of the device before its final disposal. Plus, it also enables battery repair or replacement without throwing out the entire phone. By giving users this capability, the rules are meant to encourage reuse of existing phones and help cut down on electronic waste.
[...] But if removable batteries become the norm once again, then phone design could take a step backward in terms of overall construction. That's because cases may need to become thicker to accommodate the removable batteries, and additional safety features would need to be added to protect the new design as well. Until the top phone manufacturers reveal newer models to satisfy the EU's standards, it's unclear what changes users can expect to see.
(Score: 4, Informative) by aafcac on Monday March 02, @04:17AM (8 children)
The main advantage to a non-removable battery is that it makes it a bit easier for the manufacturer to make it in a waterproof design. But, I think that in most cases, it's not really worth it. But, OTHO, I've rarely, if ever, had issues with the battery in a cellphone being an issue. The main reasons that I've liked to have a replaceable one are for swapping out if I know I'm going somewhere that I won't be able to charge and that it's easier than remembering what random set of button presses it is to reset the phone if it freezes. Neither of which happen to me very often.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Undefined on Monday March 02, @12:16PM (2 children)
Another benefit of previous swappable designs was the option to pop a much higher capacity battery on the phone.
Those of us who aren't subject to the consumer's inexplicable love affair with "maximally thin" really liked that.
YMMV ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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(Score: 2) by aafcac on Monday March 02, @03:49PM (1 child)
True, but with a swappable battery, you've got nearly unlimited power provided you have the batteries and don't need it to run continuously.
(Score: 1) by Undefined on Monday March 02, @10:13PM
With a larger battery, I've also got a phone that actually fits in my hand and I'll do less battery swapping. Double win on top of the anti-planned-obsolescence win.
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(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday March 02, @04:27PM (2 children)
Ah, this reminds me of my long ago Samsung Galaxy S5 phone. It was waterproof. It had a removable back -- which has a visible gasket. You could remove the battery, which revealed a removable SIM and micro SD card slot that could be populated.
So it had replaceable SIM, SD and battery, yet was waterproof. There were and probably still are YouTube videos of people swimming with this phone, running the phone through the washing machine on porpoise not by accident.
So how did Samsung improve upon this?
The Samsung Galaxy S6 phone was made of glass and could break. Could not be opened. Nothing was serviceable or replaceable. So I moved on from Samsung to others.
Stupid people exist because nothing in the food chain eats them anymore.
(Score: 3, Informative) by DadaDoofy on Monday March 02, @05:59PM (1 child)
"It was waterproof."
Nope. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is not waterproof. It has an IP67 rating, which means it is water resistant. When new, it can withstand immersion in water up to 1 meter deep (about 3.3 feet) for 30 minutes.
iPhones, with their sealed battery compartments, have a an IP68 rating, which is good for 6m/30min.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday March 02, @08:05PM
Good catch. I was happy that it was "waterproof" enough for most ordinary instances of getting it submerged accidentally.
Stupid people exist because nothing in the food chain eats them anymore.
(Score: 2) by Dr Spin on Tuesday March 03, @08:02AM (1 child)
The main reasons that I've liked to have a replaceable one are for swapping out if I know I'm going somewhere that I won't be able to charge
This.
The argument that the phone might need to be 10 nanometers thicker is a ton of bullshit. They carry on like it is 10 cm.
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by aafcac on Tuesday March 03, @02:11PM
It genuinely annoys me how hard it is to find a phone that's small enough to actually fit in a pocket. I don't need a thinner phone, I need one with a slightly smaller screen size, and even many of the cheaper phones have unnecessarily large screens.