Mildly Infuriating

I think rechargeable is overall better than needing a thousand batteries that you just throw away to sit in a landfill, but agree they desperately need to 1) Normalize and standardize batteries and 2) Not use shitty ones that need charging every 2 day. We have standardized rechargeable AA and AAA batteries, if anything just encourage using those.

Buying shit tier stuff is gonna give your a shit tier experience. Have more discretion in your shopping, which could mean holding out for quite awhile, and you'll eventually find a USB-C option.

I think single-use batteries should be banned. Whenever I go to the weed store and I see them selling/advertising disposable vapes I can't help but feel a hint of rage. All my AA and AAA batteries are rechargeable now. Hopefully soon everything will use USB-C and graphene batteries and supercapacitors will be common.

I'm of much the same opinion, and I refuse to buy certain categories of gadget if the battery is not replaceable with a commodity type. This is becoming increasingly difficult.

Note that this doesn't have to be AAA/AA batteries, either. The reason so many little gizmos use lithium-whatever rechargeable batteries is because the energy density of lithium is way better than consumer alkaline batteries (with some exceptions that I'll get to; keep your shirt on) and because they're available in a lot of form factors -- particularly flat ones -- that are easy to jam into the product.

For instance, I have quite a few flashlights that take rechargeable lithium chemistry 18650 cells. Some of these allow for charging the battery in the light with a USB cable or whatever, but the important point is if the battery takes a shit I can just take it out and replace it with another one easily and cheaply. I cringe every time I see the backpacking dudebros recommending "slim" USB-rechargeable-only lights to each other like they're all the best thing ever, but which will inevitably be landfill in a year or two when their little nonreplaceable batteries give up the ghost. Hikers look at me like I have a fish for a head when I mention I use an 18650 light. "But it's so heavy!" Sure, and it gets 4 times the battery life of your little stupid light, and it will last forever. I also still have a digital camera that runs off of AA's, and several other oldschool odds and ends of that ilk.

If you are using a gadget that takes consumer AA or AAA cells, by the way, you can now get lithium rechargeable versions of these which are in most cases superior to both disposable alkalines and rechargeable NiMH cells. Whatever you do, don't run everything you own off of disposable alkalines. That's just stupid.

Interesting. I hate AAA batteries and only buy things that I can charge with USB cables. I hate having to replace and throw away batteries all the time.

The “USB C” charger laws in the EU should help with this. As should the “right to repair” laws that are emerging.

Consider all the dinky appliances that end up in the garbage when their non-replaceable battery fails (like electric toothbrushes and razors). This is specially bad when the manufacturer chooses to use a lithium ion battery. Great way to start a fire in the garbage truck.

You're gonna want a room full of AAA batts if you want your phone to last a year, not to mention that you have to set the date and time every time you reboot your device since it's got no charging port and you have to replace the batts which contain date and time information.

Rechargable AAA batts are not very easy to find where I'm from. I'm probably guessing that's not the case where you live.

And don't even think about playing graphically intensive video games on that thing, the batt is gonna die within 3 minutes due to the insane power consumption.

And your phone better have a DC input incase you DON'T wanna use the batt, but then you have to leave it plugged into the wall when you wanna use it, so it basically becomes a house phone (but it's smrt).

The only solution is to wait until the EU enforces replaceable batts on everyone, then move to an EU country. I recommend Belgium if you lack self-love like I do.

Also, did you notice that I never called them "batteries" until this point. Because I also hate them. But they're super important nowadays.

For sure. When I get something new, regardless of what it is, I tend to look for whether it takes regular batteries or not.

Take bike lights, for example. So many use non-removable batteries. Why? If you run out of power with one, you're SOL. The best ones I own take 18650 batteries, you can swap them, upgrade them, and carry as many as you need as spares.

I hate, absolutely HATE the fact that phones don't have swappable batteries like they used to. Right now, the only reason I'd have to replace my perfectly good phone is because of battery degradation. Previously, I'd just buy a replacement, pop it in, and I'm good to go for another few years at least.

Well, Lithum has way better energy density than the other rechargeables hence tends to be chosen for devices that draw more energy such as stuff with microprocessors and/or large screens.

However that battery tech puts out a much higher voltage (at around 3.8V instead of 1.5V) than they typical rechargeable or discardable batteries, plus it needs extra circuitry to avoid excessive discharge (which kills the battery), which is probably why you don't see devices using AA and AAA rechargeable LiPo or Li-ion rechargeables.

What we need is some kind of proper and legally enforced standard for Lithium battery form factors like we have with the AA, AAA (and D and others).

Ultimatelly it's a political problem derived from living in an age were the dominant political discourse is all about less regulation - there is simply no will to "interfere with the Free Market" and regulate this to reduce waste, so in the end the Environmenf suffers so ultimatelly we all suffer.

And that's just the cars.

slightly different but there is a product im debating called tromataz toothbrush. its first iteration had a replaceable head but it has a bunch of its electronics in it. Its obvious it should have some sort of plastic brush snap on for the top but not only have they not improved it. It looks like they are going the other way and you have to change your toothbrush every 3 months or so. its nuts. whats wrong with their engineers!!!!