The Return of User Replaceable Batteries in Mobile Devices

[alarmguy]

Oh god you use light mode, I thought I could trust you!

Dark mode for life View attachment 175665

*LOL* That's too funny!
I only use dark for my Home Security app and kind of liking it. Before that I could never get used to it!
I do have it switch to night mode at night/bedtime, supposed to be better with reduced blue light.
Ok, you got me now, I might have to try it again one day

 

[Skippy722]

*LOL* That's too funny!
I only use dark for my Home Security app and kind of liking it. Before that I could never get used to it!
I do have it switch to night mode at night/bedtime, supposed to be better with reduced blue light.
Ok, you got me now, I might have to try it again one day

Everything I have is set to a dark mode, though I do like the wallpapers on macOS that change with the time of day, and my iPhone is the earth background that also changes with time lol

Also relevant:

 

[alarmguy]

Everything I have is set to a dark mode, though I do like the wallpapers on macOS that change with the time of day, and my iPhone is the earth background that also changes with time lol

Also relevant:

Oh man ... to go back to that era.

 

[J Dubbs]

As soon as dark mode was available on my phones I started using it... haven't seen light mode in years till your post alarmguy...as ELO would say "Blinded By The Light"

 

[John105]

This.

With that said, I have a 2017 iPhone 8. The battery is the only thing that has significantly degraded, but since I have it plugged in a lot it hasn't become a problem. I should really get a new one, but I have a hard time giving this one up since otherwise it works great, and it feels wasteful.

My mom, myself, wife, all got iPhones thanksgiving 2018. Why at the same time? I paid for them

Mom iPhone 6s $9.99
Wife Xs max 256 $449
Me Xs 64 $249

Brand new in box Verizon

Flash forward to Sept 2022.

Wife and I replaced our phones the day the 14 came out

Me 13 pro 256 $309
Wife 13 pro max 256 $449

My wife’s battery on the Xs was 95% capacity!!!

Mine? 73% and said replace

Mom’s 6s won’t stay on.

She actually gave it to me in April and I was gonna change the battery for $23 diy.

My wife gave my mom the Xs max and mom is happy.

My wife never charges during day nor in car and has optimized on.

Me I always charged every chance I got. Resist that today, but I’m on call, and that was the concern.

My battery is already 95% while wife’s is 100% still.

Make them replaceable and all of the above we would be as concerned imho…

 

[PandaBear]

It should be much easier than what we have today. Look at how they glue everything together it just makes no sense to save a fraction of a mm at the expense of battery replacement. I suspect they will just make it an enclose + battery module and charge you a "together" price, and if screen becomes the next repairable mandate, phones will be a screen + main board + battery / back case design.

 

[J Dubbs]

It should be much easier than what we have today. Look at how they glue everything together it just makes no sense to save a fraction of a mm at the expense of battery replacement. I suspect they will just make it an enclose + battery module and charge you a "together" price, and if screen becomes the next repairable mandate, phones will be a screen + main board + battery / back case design.

I'm definitely curious as to how they're going to approach the replaceable battery scenario. I wonder if they'll go to the effort of making the phones water resistant or not. Going the modular route does make sense... I think it would be easier to make the phone water resistant, plus possibly still make the back out of some kind of glass for the premium feel. Plus they could charge more for replacement batteries which would make it more lucrative for them

I don't see them sticking old school plastic backs on their flagship phones.. they're not going back to the 90's... no profit in that

 

[KrisZ]

Remember, it’s government they have no clue what they’re talking about. For all we know, to satisfy this new law, the battery simply doesn’t need to be glued down and everything else may stay the same.

It will be interesting what comes out of it though.

 

[kschachn]

I don't see them sticking old school plastic backs on their flagship phones.. they're not going back to the 90's... no profit in that

Nor would I want that.

 

[PimTac]

Not “suggest”, They are Certified as stated below;

“The iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are all IP68 certified under IEC standard 60529.”

“This means that they can be submerged in fresh water up to a maximum depth of six meters (19.7 feet) for up to half an hour. That certification also means that these phones are dust resistant, too.“

Source = https://www.techradar.com/features/is-the-iphone-14-waterproof

From Apple =

About splash, water, and dust resistance of iPhone 7 and later - Apple Support

Learn about splash, water, and dust resistance on your iPhone.

support.apple.com

There should be a caveat that the iPhone in its original factory new condition. Under normal usage this spec should be maintained.

But normal usage doesn’t cover people sitting on their phones while they are in their rear pockets. Nor phones getting dropped onto hard surfaces or being thrown. Some people toss their phones onto tables or wherever like a disposable item. In their minds maybe the phone is disposable.

So after all that flexing and dropping and whatever someone goes swimming and forgets that their iPhone is in their swim trunks pocket. Then they get mad at Apple because it’s supposed to be waterproof but hey, look at mine, it died.

 

[KrisZ]

There should be a caveat that the iPhone in its original factory new condition. Under normal usage this spec should be maintained.

But normal usage doesn’t cover people sitting on their phones while they are in their rear pockets. Nor phones getting dropped onto hard surfaces or being thrown. Some people toss their phones onto tables or wherever like a disposable item. In their minds maybe the phone is disposable.

So after all that flexing and dropping and whatever someone goes swimming and forgets that their iPhone is in their swim trunks pocket. Then they get mad at Apple because it’s supposed to be waterproof but hey, look at mine, it died.

I don’t think I agree. To me the only excuse not maintaining water resistance rating is if the device was opened up or physically damaged.

Normal usage, even throwing the phone on the table, wearing in the back pocket, sitting on it, as long as it doesn’t physically damage the device, should not affect its water resistance. All of that should’ve been accounted for in its design.
Otherwise what’s the point if it cannot withstand some abuse?

 

[bunnspecial]

Fortunately iPhone 6 "bendgate" era is behind us, I think/hope.

I don't think Apple offered any kind of water resistance guarantee on those phones, but they were known to bend. I never had that issue. Then and now I generally carry my phone either in my left hip pocket or my shirt pocket, neither of which is a high stress location. Back pockets can be. With loose fitting jeans with big pockets(i.e. a lot of mens' jeans) I don't think it was a big deal, but tight jeans/pants with small pockets(i.e. a lot of womens' pants) it certainly could be. There were plenty of other situations where people had it happen too, using a belt holster and banging against a door(maybe in the abuse category for that one).

Newer phones are a bit more substantial, or at least the iPhone are.

It's really a shame, too. I actually really liked the design of the iPhone 6. It was a bit thin for my taste, but was super light. It was a bit of a shock for me when I went straight from an iPhone 6 to an XR and felt like I was carrying a brick around with me. Of course too I managed to kill 3 iPhone 6 screens with them sliding out of my shirt pocket bending over-I switched to "grippier" cases and that fortunately quit happening.

 

[y_p_w]

Fortunately iPhone 6 "bendgate" era is behind us, I think/hope.

I don't think Apple offered any kind of water resistance guarantee on those phones, but they were known to bend. I never had that issue. Then and now I generally carry my phone either in my left hip pocket or my shirt pocket, neither of which is a high stress location. Back pockets can be. With loose fitting jeans with big pockets(i.e. a lot of mens' jeans) I don't think it was a big deal, but tight jeans/pants with small pockets(i.e. a lot of womens' pants) it certainly could be. There were plenty of other situations where people had it happen too, using a belt holster and banging against a door(maybe in the abuse category for that one).

Newer phones are a bit more substantial, or at least the iPhone are.

It's really a shame, too. I actually really liked the design of the iPhone 6. It was a bit thin for my taste, but was super light. It was a bit of a shock for me when I went straight from an iPhone 6 to an XR and felt like I was carrying a brick around with me. Of course too I managed to kill 3 iPhone 6 screens with them sliding out of my shirt pocket bending over-I switched to "grippier" cases and that fortunately quit happening.

The current (3rd gen) SE is about that size, although a little bit thicker. I've got one myself. I like it because I liked my iPhone 7 but needed one with better performance while operating about the same.

 

[zzyzzx]

I've had three different phones with user replaceable batteries. The only thing wrong with the idea is that most of the replacement batteries you can buy don't provide power for the same usage as oem, or don't last long at all. Leads me to think that most are Chinese overrated junk batteries or have insufficient quality control.

Even for glued in batteries buying the OEM one is often impossible. So if you are going to be using a potentially inferior aftermarket battery, it would be nice to be able to easily swap it out.

 

[John105]

Even for glued in batteries buying the OEM one is often impossible. So if you are going to be using a potentially inferior aftermarket battery, it would be nice to be able to easily swap it out.

That's exactly right. On a different product, a Dyson cordless vac, the battery fails from the point at which the adapter is pushed into the battery. Poor design. Who wants to pay Dyson's price for a replacement, not to mention it's not available from Dyson? (they are another corny co. that I fell buyer to, thanks Costco!)

Aftermarket states a higher capacity, and 1/3 the cost. And seems to work for a couple years! But what if it were internal and glued and pried and etc. to replace--kinda encourages an owner to buy a new product.

 

[alarmguy]

I don’t think I agree. To me the only excuse not maintaining water resistance rating is if the device was opened up or physically damaged.

Normal usage, even throwing the phone on the table, wearing in the back pocket, sitting on it, as long as it doesn’t physically damage the device, should not affect its water resistance. All of that should’ve been accounted for in its design.
Otherwise what’s the point if it cannot withstand some abuse?

It is accounted for in its design. It is advertised to the proper international standard of testing. This goes for Google Phone, Samsung and Apple
Anything beyond that is dumb luck and how you handle any device. BTW - This is why Apple is so successful no one will deny the reliability and build quality of their devices. Easy to read independent reviews. They dont sell 50 % of all cell phones in the USA because they are junk.

 

[benjy]

many things banned overseas are sold in USA. read where even big-kellogs cereals are a bit less toxic overseas but the junkier stuff sells in USA!! big $$$$$ runs EVERYTHING good or BAD!!

 

[Owen Lucas]

Very happy to hear this from the EU and their move to universal USB-C. I wonder how much $$$ Apple will lose with genius bar battery replacements?

There is also a requirement on the manufacturer that the old batteries be turned in for recycling. How do you prevent a consumer from changing their battery at home and returning it back to the Apple store or a mail in pouch? I presume a buyback program or maybe it's a requirement to purchase a replacement battery.

 

[J Dubbs]

It is accounted for in its design. It is advertised to the proper international standard of testing. This goes for Google Phone, Samsung and Apple
Anything beyond that is dumb luck and how you handle any device. BTW - This is why Apple is so successful no one will deny the reliability and build quality of their devices. Easy to read independent reviews. They dont sell 50 % of all cell phones in the USA because they are junk.

And I think they're all going to do something similar, water resistance wise, with user replaceable batteries when the time comes... they have the ability to do it, and the consumers are going to demand it Of course if anything, it might raise the price of phones lol.

I do think they're going to do something proprietary with the replacement batteries/and or phones to keep folks from easily slapping in any old battery... they'll want to charge more for replacement batteries to recoup some of the loss of consumers who'll buy a new battery instead of a new phone.

I hope they don't get too crazy

 

[J Dubbs]

Very happy to hear this from the EU and their move to universal USB-C. I wonder how much $$$ Apple will lose with genius bar battery replacements?

There is also a requirement on the manufacturer that the old batteries be turned in for recycling. How do you prevent a consumer from changing their battery at home and returning it back to the Apple store or a mail in pouch? I presume a buyback program or maybe it's a requirement to purchase a replacement battery.

They could definitely use the same core charge approach they use with automotive batteries. There are lots of lithium batteries that already get thrown away in old phones and all kinds of other smaller lithium powered products. Replaceable batteries with core charges could probably slow that down substantially... most folks won't want to throw away money