this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2023

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It's official: Smartphones will need to have replaceable batteries by 2027 (www.androidauthority.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

226 comments fedilink hide all child comments

TL;DR

The European Council has ended its adoption procedure for rules related to phones with replaceable batteries.
By 2027, all phones released in the EU must have a battery the user can easily replace with no tools or expertise.
The regulation intends to introduce a circular economy for batteries.

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[–] [email protected] 78 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Hopefully this doesn't go the way of charging cables and we have a different battery shape for every phone... Otherwise a 2040 regulation will be to standardize battery shape(s)

[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Battery shape (and connector) will sadly still be a thing for a long time, and usually it's for engineering reasons, so I don't really think it will be possible to standardize it

[+] [email protected] -19 points 1 year ago (2 children)

We really should just adopt the "best one" that becomes the standard. Only change it with significant advancement

[–] dojan 53 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It depends on the layout of the phone though. Size of camera module, placement of fingerprint sensors, other sensors/modules, heat sinks. You name it, really.

As such the batteries tend to be oddly shaped, and even spread out in different places to get as much battery in as possible.

The “best one” differs from phone to phone.

[+] [email protected] -8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I‘ve had a couple dozen different phone batteries in my hand. It’s really not that complicated if you have to make it work. Sure, manufacturers will yell that they couldn’t make their 27 lenses at the edge of the case work. I say make them 16:9 in 5 different sizes and manufacturers can work around that, end of story. New sizes can be adopted if the benefit for everyone outweighs the cost.

[–] dojan 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I'd really like to see it but I don't think we will see it unless legislation forces it.

I'd like to see it in more than just phones. Standardise battery sizes for cars and other vehicles as well, and make it possible to replace them manually. If there were automated battery charging stations I might even be convinced that electric cars will work for more than just city travel.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I agree again. EVs do work imo but proprietary stuff always gets in the way. It’s actually time to reform the way intellectual property works and is enforced. It’s a way to leech out millions of dollars for insanely old or convoluted content which is not how our world functions anymore. There should be a limit on how big of an idea can be patented as well. Just think about tissues in boxes. If that got patented, they would be insanely expensive. That’s why I think things that are insanely common (medical formulas) should have very short patent spans. We need to take power away from megacorps (which is a can of worms in itself). Same goes for ev batteries, vaccines, etc.

[–] dojan 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I agree with you entirely. Maybe not so much on EVs, but my only real gripe with them is the battery, which would be solved if we standardised battery sizes and engineered some sort of solution which allowed for "swapping stations" to automatically swap out batteries. It would require makers to design and engineer their cars around these swappable batteries but I think that's the way to go.

The way it'd work today is if some manufacturer implemented this, it'd be some sort of proprietary BS thing and it just wouldn't work in practise. Legislating a standard for all the manufacturers to adhere to is the only real workable way of doing something like that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Yes, I think that would eliminate a lot of the problems we face. Also, there are batteries not made of rare earths. They just dont get funded as much as they are not as cheap as exploring 3rd world countries.

I think its very easy. The manufacturers get a vote based on their sale volume (you make good cars, you make decisions). They vote on the best design to implement as standard and it immediately loses its patent.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

There isn’t one “best one”. Always depends on requirements, which vary by device, underlying technology and use case.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Well battery shapes will be custom, but the regulation does include demand to offer said batteries as spare parts.

shall ensure that those batteries are available as spare parts of the equipment that they power for a minimum of five years after placing the last unit of the equipment model on the market, with a reasonable and non-discriminatory price for independent professionals and end-users.

This being EU, EU will actually even police that reasonability clause via consumer protection agencies. You might not like the still probably pretty hefty price, but outright monopoly price gouging will not be allowed. Atleast not with in EU jurisdiction. Also makers will tend to gravitate to number of pretty standard battery sizes and geometries. Simply out of economies of scale. If you have to offer the batteries available as spares. You don't want to offer 150 different battery models on you warehousing and supply to your retail stores. You want as few as possible. Maybe say 5 different sizes or maybe couple ten different kinds on the biggest makers with the largest product range. Cheaper to buy more of similar batteries from battery supplier, than have custom module developed for each new phone model. Well unless one is apple and only has couple new models per year. They probably will have now just little bit different optimized shape battery for each models, but they also have the scale per model to make sense for that.

also:

Software shall not be used to impede the replacement of a portable battery or LMT battery, or of their key components, with another compatible battery or key components.

Meaning companies can't use software locks to deny third party batteries. Since the language says compatible battery, not replacement battery. Which wouldn't make sense anyway, since replacement battery would be the one the OEM offers. Ofcourse I'm sure there will be lot of hurdur by makers over "don't use third party batteries, those aren't as safe" and "well but that isn't compatible". However as one remembers during the early 2000's and upto mid 2010's there was a very healthy both OEM and third party replacement battery market. As with that experience, yes shoddy batteries from non-reputable people can be problem. However in this basic consumer electronic safety regulation (aka you can't just shovel anything to the market with utterly nuts unsafe circuitry in the first place) and the market itself handles it. Again it will be found out over little time, which makers are the reputable ones with the good batteries with all the proper safeties and good production quality. Reputable big chain electronics dealers then focus on only offering the established reputable third party batteries and parts out of their own reputation (You sold me a shoddy battery. It burst and ruined my phone. I'm never buying from this phone store ever again). Plus same with the actual makers with stuff like offering extensive warranties, warranting the replacement of the device, if their battery messes it up and so on.

This is all "we have already been here" ground except instead of the T9 numpad on the phone front, there is now a whole front covering touch screen on it's place.