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I do miss being able to swap out a phone battery and this will certainly be a step in the right direction in terms ewaste and device longevity.
One thing that I wonder about is waterproofing or water resistance. Some phones are basically waterproof in shallow water. How achievable is this with a device with a trivial way to remove the battery?
The Galaxy S5 sport had a battery door and water resistance. They just used gaskets.
I had this and I loved it. But it was quite a poor waterproofing. It didn't work under much pressure and the gasket was super prone to losing it's seal. If it was ever dropped the back popped off. I use the waterproof feature of the modern sealed phones a lot and frankly these didn't cut it at all. Water-resistant at best.
Would still be dope to have the default be removable battery with gasket backs though.
This is my concern as well. Having a phone that is water and dust resistant is far more important to me than being able to replace the battery. I haven't had the need to replace a phone battery in probably more than a decade.
For my needs, I probably need enough basic water resistance to keep rain out or moisture from wet hands, etc, but it really would be nice to have full water proofing. When I lived in a more humid climate the moisture in the air was enough to kill an old phone of mine over time.
I’m one of the few who agree with you here. I have my phones for many years and simply take them to the Apple Store for a battery replacement when needed - takes a few minutes. I’m happy doing that for the size and durability benefits.
People make this argument and barely anyone really uses the waterprooding features of a phone
I imagine water resistance comes in handy quite often for many people. It has certainly saved me countless times. Not that I need to go swimming or deep sea diving with my phone, but I have dropped phones in water, been stuck in the rain, spilled a glass of water, etc. I ruined many phones before it became common.
I would rather have a cheap phone that does calling texting and web browsing well with a replacement battery door than water resistance.
You don't ever really 'need to use' the waterproof feature on your phone. It's more insurance for most people.
I have personally known dozens of people for who'm it's saved their phone including:
The above are things that happened both to people I know individually and also all of the above have happened to be at some point.
I don't necessarily like the lack of being able to swap out the batteries for a cheap replacement but I do like that waterproofing to a high degree should be a default feature for things like phones. It could be argued to get waterproof cases or keep it in a bag and that's all good and well (except the waterproof cases as they suck and break) but isn't it nice for the default to be that the device itself is waterproof if that was an option?
But removable batteries and waterproof are not mutually exclusive. It was already possible 10 years ago and still is. The current selection is limited, but this legislation will change that.
https://www.androidauthority.com/best-android-phones-removable-battery-697520/
Manufacturers have options to coat the boards in a rubber-like coating - this makes it much less likely to short out, if it gets wet. Like stated above, that with used in conjunction with gaskets, these devices are pretty darn watertight even with replaceable/removable batteries.
Water proofing is for more than just taking it underwater though. It's also for getting caught in the rain, leaving it on a bathroom counter while you shower, or accidentally dropping it in a puddle.
That's not waterproof though in the marketing world. That's water resistant. Waterproof means you can dump your phone in your toilet after you took a piss standing up drunk at the bar and pick it up piss covered and it will still work.
My cheap not-waterproof phone survives mild rain just fine, as does being in the bathroom while I shower, or being in my pocket under very heavy rain.
Waterproof means it can be submerged, but most technology meant for daily use have a fair bit of resilence baked in...
I agree that is isn't really necessary for most people, but I do know quite a few people who use it because they know the phone will be safe. My partner uses her phone in the pool all the time. I'm often dripping wet after coming in from surfing, even after drying off with a towel. It is nice to be able to check my phone without worrying I'm going to mess it up.
I'm not saying it is a feature every phone needs, but it is something that some people use. I'm all for replaceable batteries and would like to see them more available. They will improve the longevity of devices as long as they aren't damaged in other ways.
Hmm well I don't know the solution to this. The only phone I know of that was popular that had a removable battery and "waterproof" was the galaxy S5. It really wasn't waterproof though.
It was IP67 certified if the port cover was closed. We've come a long way with sealing USB ports over the last 10 years so I'm certain it could be done without needing a door now.
I worked in mobile phones at the time and many customers came back with damaged S5s because they were told it was waterproof and spilt a glass of water or some such and it ruined the phone. We saw the moisture strip on the battery activated more than a few times.
Makes sense. If the port cover was open even a bit, the microUSB port wasn't sealed against water at all and water goes everywhere. Modern phones wouldn't have that particular problem so we'd have to see how they'll handle replaceable batteries now.
I just assumed they had some hydrophobic setup figured out because not long after the sony Xperia Z waterproof marketing I saw phones without gaskets and coverings touting IPs.
Fairly certain Iphones are IP whatever and they have open ports.
You know, I really like my Essential Ph-1. It was a lovely little phone. I had the little 360 camera accessory that snapped on magentically and everything. It was so cool! Then, 1.5 seconds, dropped into water from which I grabbed it instantly, and it was done. No warranty coverage for dropping it in water, and zero waterproofing, and toasted phone. So, yes, more of us "use" waterproofing on our phones than you would think. The thing is that it didn't need to be this way. There were waterproof phones back before everything was glued glass slabs all the time. Galaxy S5 Sport as mentioned by @[email protected] above (and other "sport" edition phones). We have a lot of hygrophobic coatings and tech we didn't have in the day of the Galaxy S5 series. We can do better now, if manufacturers are forced to.
They can just seal the rest of the components exposing just a connection for the battery. There were water resistant phones before, the major reason they decided to make the battery unremovable was to make people buy new phones. Nobody wants to charge their phones multiple times a day.
It worked really well on my Galaxy S5. IP67 and easy enough to replace the battery on without tools. They'd just have to switch out the back for something not glass probably on modern phones.
That is good to hear. Do they have some sort of rubber gasket inside?
That's exactly it, gasket around the inside but not where it would get damaged. It was a pretty slick solution.
It won't happen though. It'll be a kind of malicious compliance from the manufacturers: we'll incorporate replaceable batteries but we're not going to waterproof anything
Some "Sport" phones had this before everything was glued together, with gaskets and rubber port plugs (because the hygrophobic coatings used in ports now weren't available yet).
You can have both https://youtu.be/Yn-R39-dtc0