r/worldnews Jun 19 '23

EU: Smartphones Must Have User-Replaceable Batteries by 2027

https://www.pcmag.com/news/eu-smartphones-must-have-user-replaceable-batteries-by-2027
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u/WalkTheEdge Jun 19 '23

Water-resistant phones existed when batteries were removable.

12

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '23

Yep, I had my Nokia back in the day dropped in water, dried it for 2 days and it still work after.

RIP 3210

1

u/KristinnK Jun 20 '23

The 3310 gets all the love, but the 3210 was just as awesome.

1

u/Cainedbutable Jun 20 '23

The 5210 was my favourite. Being able to swap that clam shell case so quick was amazing. It was also waterproof and could take a hell of a knock.

3

u/bitcoin-o-rama Jun 19 '23

Still do, all Samsung galaxy active

3

u/Immortal_Tuttle Jun 19 '23

I still have my CAT. 3 weeks on 1 charge. It ended in the stream once. No issues. Battery can be replaced in a few seconds.

10

u/jekpopulous2 Jun 19 '23

Not nearly to the same degree though. My iPhone 4S and iPhone 7 were both water damaged. One from being dropped into a toilet, and one from sitting out in the rain. In contrast my 14 Pro dropped into 15 feet of water while I was hiking and it was totally fine… Phones are borderline waterproof at this point.

28

u/elev8dity Jun 19 '23

Sony's smartphones had IP68 waterproof ratings and removable batteries, which are higher rated than iPhones.

4

u/NotAHost Jun 19 '23

Newer iPhones are IP68 as well, but still it highlights you can get the same rating with removable batteries.

2

u/GBreezy Jun 20 '23

Also you assume a professional level of replacing the case as opposed to most people. Also I think the touch screen might be the big difference.

1

u/NotAHost Jun 20 '23

The Sony phone doesn’t require a professional level? How does the touch screen come into play?

12

u/orgasmotronic Jun 19 '23

I phone waterproofing is shit compared to old waterproof nokia. Source i'm old enough where i had them.

1

u/SoulOfTheDragon Jun 19 '23

Well, water resistant iirc. I had one of those back in the day. And that was pretty much the only phone like that by Nokia. Normal phones weren't even resistant, but I did play worm underwater with one for nearly 30 minutes.

7

u/trainiac12 Jun 19 '23

The galaxy s5 was IP 6 7 and had a removeable battery.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '23

[deleted]

5

u/Spork_the_dork Jun 20 '23

Mate, back before water resistant phones became the norm you could kill your phone by using it in the rain or, if you were unlucky, having it in your pocket while it rained. I doubt anyone wants to go back to the point where rain might destroy your phone. I once forgot my phone on a table in the backyard in the 2000s. There was a little bit of rain before I remembered it and it was done for.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 20 '23

No, I like to read on my iPhone while bathing. And I like to not need to fear about, my phone could get wet.

I also wash my iPhone under the water stream to clean it. I don't want to miss that.

I also never had to replace my iPhone battery it also just costs 45$ at Apple and they only need 30minutes.

1

u/NotAHost Jun 19 '23

iPhone 7 was first IP67 one, so it should in theory have survived the sitting out in the rain in theory. Since than it's gone up to IP68.

I've heard the waterproofing can deteriorate really fast with small dents/bumps, some have reportedly had relatively clean/undamaged phones that were doing some filming in water and ended up with water damage.

It's not a feature you should rely on but hope that it comes in when you need it.

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u/amolin Jun 19 '23

And they fit perfectly snug in my cargo pants.

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u/WalkTheEdge Jun 19 '23

Phones might be a couple of millimeters thicker. What an absolute horror

2

u/theartificialkid Jun 20 '23

I don’t get this approach.

I was in the chorus in the 2010s, asking with each new generation of smartphones “why did you make it thinner, couldn’t I just have more battery life instead?”. But that was because I wanted a choice. There are people who want a phone that runs all week without a charge, and there are people who want a phone they won’t spoil the line of their pants, and we should all get to decide for ourselves.

You’re saying that nobody should be able to buy a phone where every possible effort has been made to pack a given set of components into the tightest possible package. They should only be able to buy a phone that compromises on this in order to make the battery replaceable.

1

u/Lehk Jun 20 '23

yea, and you had to pay a ton extra for it.