Technology

Now require manufacturers to provide like 5 years of OS updates so devices aren't insecure bricks once you get updates.

OR disallow banking apps from blocking custom ROMs/root, so you can just install your own updates ROM without losing updates.

It must be nice to have leaders that actually do useful things.

Yes! mandatory usb C and replaceable battery, and i'd like the 3mm headphonr jack to also be a standard 😁

I had the battery for my OnePlus 6T replaced, extending the phone lifetime for probably 2 years. It cost me about $100.

Forcing manufacturers to make batteries easily replaceable by the user without special tools and skills seems like it could make phones less lightweight and less waterproof. I would be fine if they just require manufactures to make it available as a reasonably priced service.

I'm fine with internal batteries, but please use some form of standard cell size and connector.

I used to have a phone with a replaceable battery and it was awesome. I would charge the other battery while using the phone all day, carefree. When it was about to die, I'd swap out the battery. It was basically like I had an instant charge of 100% on my phone. Those were good days.

Good!

I like replaceable batteries but there is no doubt that the simplified unibody designs have other benefits besides the planned obsolescence companies seek. Battery life or thickeness will certainly take a hit. I feel like having some form of incentives for more repairable phones would work better to bring better, more renuable options without blockingotherr designs

Any battery is replaceable if you pry it hard enough

Now let's hope that the batteries aren't provided in overpriced proprietary formats with a software lock attached to them like Apple's iPhone screens.

Wouldn’t this affect water resistance? One argument for “sealed” devices is better protection against water/dust/debris.

I’m all for allowing easier replacements and repairs for the consumer (No reason a device should be unusable after a few years due to a battery), but I can see this issue being brought up.

The language in the article does seem to forget that plenty of early smartphones had replaceable batteries... Yeah, it might add some bulk, but it's not exactly going to be a major hardship.

... but it seems like a good reverse step to me. Any consumer replaceable part is a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

Great news! No point in 5 or 6 years of software updates when the battery gives out after 3 years.

I don't really see the benefit anymore. My current device lasts ~40 hours on a charge, so I seldom find the need to swap anything out. Even if I did, those little USB battery packs that charge multiple devices are more practical. On a long flight, my wife and I just share one and it works on the Switch and tablet too.

Sealed devices have way better water resistance, less plastic makes the batteries themselves bigger, and wireless charging (especially with magnets) will be challenging to add to a battery that's also the back cover.

I'm sure I'll be in the minority on this, but, I don't really have any interest in a removable battery, especially if it involves other compromises on size, capacity, and features.

I'll admit that I haven't had battery problems for a long time, but I still think that this is a great idea if it can prolong the usage of other hardware.

Usually the software bugs down before the battery, and even with replacement batteries there will still be an issue of what to do with the spent batteries. Can they be revived or clustered for other purposes etc.?

I know that used batteries from cars are still valuable as storage even when they are at half capacity or less, but phone batteries are so small that it isn't feasible.

Hopefully this will push the manufactures into a different direction than the current use and discard strategy. European companies will soon have to file environmental reports, but with batteries coming from Asia, I'm not sure what effect EU will have. Chain responsibility isn't really there yet.

This is great news! Even better than the USB-C regulation. Changing a battery on a modern phone is a huge pita… And it’s definitely getting worse since some companies are trying everything to prevent you from doing so…

I would absolutely buy a phone twice as thick as my iPhone SE 2020 if it has an easily swappable battery. Bonus points if it is able to be used as an actual phone without a case to prevent it from dying instantly from a light breeze or some evil look by a person…

Back in the day I used to just keep 2-3 fully charged spare batteries if I went out. No need for a battery pack to recharge if I can just quickly swap battery and get a days worth of charge instantly.