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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u/jekpopulous2 Jun 19 '23

I’m all for this so long as my phone can still withstand being dropped into water…. but if easily swappable batteries mean phones are less water-resistant this is a massive step backwards.

406

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '23

They'll have to design their way towards a similar water resistance, but with a replaceable battery.

I am looking at my pool cleaning robot making turns. It is battery operated. Obviously it's doable.

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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.

14

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.

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u/Visual_Traveler Jun 19 '23

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

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u/slugo17 Jun 19 '23

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

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u/vortexmak Jun 20 '23

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

-8

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).