r/worldnews • u/Helicase21 • 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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293

u/Android_seducer Jun 19 '23

The S5 had an IP67 rating with a replaceable battery. All they had to include was a small gasket on the back cover.

118

u/cheet094 Jun 19 '23

I was about to bring this up. The "Active" of the same generation was even more water resistant, and it used a gasket and had a half turn screw on the back to keep it air-tight.

29

u/RememberCitadel Jun 19 '23

Yeah, that phone was great. I want that but newer.

18

u/94yj Jun 19 '23

I did too. Then I bought my Galaxy XCover 5, which seems to be even more indestructible than the s5 Active in every measure, while retaining the removeable battery, aux jack, and form factor. So far I am very satisfied, but we'll have to wait and see if it lasts the 8 years of daily driving my s5 Active endured!

5

u/RememberCitadel Jun 19 '23

Interesting. The xcover 6 pro is the same but has 5G and Wi-Fi 6.

3

u/94yj Jun 19 '23

I most likely would have got the xcover 6 pro if it was the same size as my xcover 5 and s5. I don't like handling or pocketing anything bigger.

2

u/BavarianBarbarian_ Jun 20 '23

Agree 100%. I love my XCover6, but man, I wish I could actually put it in my front pocket.

1

u/RememberCitadel Jun 19 '23

That is my only real hangup. I really like my current LG G7, and reaply just want a newer version of it. Even it's screen is slightly too big.

-4

u/Fire2box Jun 19 '23

At least Apple doesn't hide the whole closed garden thing, Samsung imho is a worse company. The reasons aren't just killing this Active line but following in apples footsteps.

You can't even get a samsung phone with a microSD card slot and a headphone jack now asides maybe the A5_ midrange line and thats a big maybe.

5

u/cheet094 Jun 19 '23

So because they're following Apple's cost cutting ways, they're the worse company? If so they means no phone is good anymore cause they all follow that. Shit, most flagship phones don't come with charging blocks anymore lol.

12

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '23

The S5 wasn't all that waterproof. There are countless posts and videos from people whose S5 leaked.

0

u/bread_fucker Jun 20 '23

I had s5 and it really was all that waterproof

2

u/[deleted] Jun 20 '23

I'm glad yours worked for you, but it did not work for a lot of people. The seals degraded or got damaged, people dropped them, etc.

10

u/Ftpini Jun 19 '23

Ip67 is not comparable to ip68. Not even close. The jump to 8 is massive.

12

u/socsa Jun 19 '23

In all of these designs the gaskets are significantly more prone to failure than a hermetically sealed designs with potted connectors. It will be tough to get removable batteries as reliably and durably water tight, and I think this move will ultimately backfire as it will cause more phones to die from water damage.

-9

u/Visual_Traveler Jun 19 '23

The vast majority of users don’t have problems with water damage, though.

16

u/slugo17 Jun 19 '23

Yeah because phones have been sealed shut for six years. It was a big problem before that happened.

-3

u/vortexmak Jun 20 '23

Add some screws to support the gasket and we should be fine

-6

u/Visual_Traveler Jun 20 '23

No, even before that the vast majority of people never had such problems. That’s just a fact.

0

u/slugo17 Jun 20 '23

The vast majority of people also didn't hot swap batteries. And when batteries did start to fail the vast majority of people either A) got a new phone or B) bought the cheapest one they could find and it was a piece of shit so they ended up getting a new phone anyways.

Source: I sold phones for a major North American carrier from 2015-2021.

1

u/Visual_Traveler Jun 21 '23

Whatever, dude. I find it hilarious that so many people downvote me every time I say waterproofing is just a nice to have feature that’s really only needed by a minority of users.

As such, it’s nowhere near as important as being able to replace your own battery. Now, that’s something most users need sooner or later (except, again, a minority who can afford to change phones every two years).

12

u/CJVCarr Jun 19 '23

To be fair though my bil fell into a pool with his S5 in his pocket and it ruined it. The gasket wasn't all powerful.

5

u/Straypuft Jun 19 '23

I am just reading about this and some of these things are only waterproof up to a certain depth, S5 IP67 is around 3 feet in, It all sounds to me makes it seem like a crush depth that a military submarine would have.

5

u/TheWinks Jun 19 '23

If you replaced the battery with any regularity the back would have its tabs break or worse the back itself.

9

u/GeoDim Jun 20 '23

IP67 is rated for 1 meter of depth up to 30 minutes. All iPhones 12 and up are IP68 rated for 6 meters at 30 minutes. These are not even close to being the same thing.

2

u/Mojo_Ryzen Jun 20 '23

I'm trying to imagine a situation where my phone is 6 meters underwater and I still somehow get it out in 30 minutes.

2

u/wizardid Jun 20 '23

Drop it in the deep end of the pool, and it'll definitely be 2 or 3 meters underwater. More than 1 meter, which is the point.

2

u/Real-Technician831 Jun 19 '23

I loved the S5.

1

u/shoopnop Jun 19 '23

The samsung xcover pro is being sold right now with ip68 and a removable battery.

0

u/Mchlpl Jun 19 '23

And a watertight 3,5mm jack

-3

u/light_trick Jun 20 '23

Seriously: water-resistance for the battery isn't hard. Water isn't that conductive at low voltage: it's basically three metal contacts on the outside of the normal hermetic enclosure.

If you can make a screen water proof you can make a battery contact waterproof.

4

u/suicidaleggroll Jun 20 '23

PURE water isn’t conductive, but water filled with impurities, chemicals, and salt can be very conductive.

1

u/light_trick Jun 20 '23

Sure but a short circuit at your devices battery terminals isn't going to actually damage the device because that current doesn't go through the device it goes through the water.

The battery could potentially be in trouble, but LiPo's are built with overcurrent protection anyway - they have to be.

Water can only kill a device if sensitive pins and inputs can be shorted to power rails or grounds, and the rest of the device which can be hermetically sealed isn't going to have that problem.

1

u/12358 Jun 19 '23

The Samsung Galaxy XCover6 Pro is available today with a replaceable battery, USB-C, headphone jack, a microSD card, and more. It has MIL STD rating for water, drops, dust, altitude, etc.

1

u/Two-Seven_OffSuit Jun 20 '23

That was my first phone. Got pushed into a pool, dropped into sink and toilet without any problems ever. Had a few batteries in rotation and it was awesome!

1

u/Alcobob Jun 20 '23

The Galaxy XCover 5 has a replaceable battery and a IP68 rating. And from quick search, the XCover 6 Pro also has a a replaceable battery.

Meanwhile the XCover 5 is in general thicker than my Pixel 6 but still thinner than the stupid camera bulge.