this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2024
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Mildly Interesting
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Unless the batteries are easily user replaceable, this is just planned obsolescence to get you to buy another when the batteries die.
If it includes an easy to replace battery? Then you've bought from a good company who gives a damn about both environment and consumers.
If it's not a phone where size matters it's almost always some generic battery that you could replace with another that's not even the same size. They might have different connectors on it, but usually it's just a positive and negative lead that somehow connects.
True, but literally the vast majority of people don't know enough about batteries to do that. Which is what makes it anti-consumer and anti-environmentally conscious.
Many gadgets are smaller than an 18650 (the oversized thumb sized cell), which is about the only standard lithium size I've ever seen be replaceable. There's hardwired rectangles everywhere, not just phones
I've seen cheap solar powered garden lights which used AA sized rechargeable batteries literally yesterday. A friend asked me to take a look why they stopped working, and I was astonished that it was a standard size, not the classic box with the thinnest possible red and black cables as usually in cheap plastic stuff like that.
My solar powered keyboard uses ML2032 coin cell rechargeable battery. They are rare, but exists.
You're right and I forgot about those. Those sit in a different mental file under "solar lights that ship with the worst possible NiMH cells in a product that's as waterproof as a sock". I was thinking more of rechargeable on-demand use items like flashlights, power banks, wireless phone/computer peripherals, etc. It's also a fair point that sometimes items that take aa/aaa cells will also have an onboard NiMH charger circuit and run off USB power if needed: a few mice/keyboards come to mind along with controllers. I haven't paid much attention to that since I have a healthy stock of those rechargeables and got a few wall chargers that can do individual charging.