The Return of User Replaceable Batteries in Mobile Devices
- Thread starter SubLGT
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We've been trained to think that way. The only reason things get outdated is because Google and Apple outdate them on purpose with unnecessary new Android and iPhone OS versions every year.
Microsoft kept Windows XP updated and secure for 13 years without outdating anything... and they could have went longer. The same could be done with phones and tablets, but that wouldn't sell nearly as many devices or make near the money.
These companies don't want you keeping $1000 phones more than a couple years... why would they? But I think there's a lot of consumers who would like that very much
we put a man on the moon over 50 years ago, they can find a way to not change much except a battery door.
I'm not for the government designing the phone, but having some simple requirements of repairability, reusability, recycleableness, and backwards compatibility of almost all consumer products makes sense on a lot of levels...Government doesnt dictate the design of products. I do understand your point but me personally will never agree to someone controlling my life. Doesnt mean it wont happen but I do not have to lay down and not be vocal. Either way, this is another country, not the USA though. I think one option and it very well may be, if the UK wants to force something why not give the public a choice? Meaning someone can buy a waterproof slim, stylish iPhone without a replaceable battery or another model with one. I can bet only a tiny minority would choose replaceable.
I hope the USA stays out of this and a company like Apple has the finances to offer two products as well as other companies. Let the USA lead with slim, waterproof devices and the UK live with government mandated design, oh sure that will work out great *LOL*
BTW- UL is a private testing company and not a requirement by US standards.
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Apple and the others main goal is to drain your wallet, and the environment is something to mention in some sales materials and do near the minimum otherwise.
I know its the american way to get "the new model" as often as possible, but I think now the microprocessors speeds are plateauing and probably we could get into a phone becoming a 8-10-12 year item for the majority of users if there was support for them in that time frame.
I've got a 2nd gen iphone SE and it does all I need, but eventually apple will kill it off with an operating system upgrade that I don't care about for some new features on the iphone 15 or whatever...
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I had a phone that wasn't 5G capable. The new phone I have is. The only thing "wrong" with the old phone was short battery life. The battery was replaceable by someone who knows what they were doing (watched a youtube video-decided it wasn't for me to try and replace) for $100.00-but it was "only 4G".' I don't buy $1,000.00 phones.We've been trained to think that way. The only reason things get outdated is because Google and Apple outdate them on purpose with unnecessary new Android and iPhone OS versions every year.
Microsoft kept Windows XP updated and secure for 13 years without outdating anything... and they could have went longer. The same could be done with phones and tablets, but that wouldn't sell nearly as many devices or make near the money.
These companies don't want you keeping $1000 phones more than a couple years... why would they? But I think there's a lot of consumers who would like that very much
I don't buy (nor have subsidized through an expensive cell phone plan) $1000 phones either. For my uses, everything is covered with a modern $200 phone... maybe cheaper than that, I haven't shopped for one recently because I don't replace them that often.
I like phones to be slimmer due to no separate battery cartridge, but what I'd prefer is more standardization of the battery, the form factor, and when a cartridge, also the contact positions stay the same, that for each capacity plateau they be compatible between multiple makes and models of phone... sort of like how we developed standards for AA, AAA, C, D, etc primary cells way back when, and then Li-Ion rechargeables in more recent years. There's no reason that can't be done for flat pack instead of just cylindrical cells.
I don't agree with the concept of outdated. At one charge a day, I never get a phone that I don't expect to keep for 3+ years which is already up against the charge cycle limit before capacity is too low. I don't care if a newer phone has some feature I don't need or faster data. I'm apparently in the minority in that I don't stream video on my phone except for specific needs, not for recreational purposes.
Plus I have uses for old phones if the battery is viable, whether a media player or bluetooth dongle for vehicle code readers, whatever, the more I'm using a decommissioned phone, the less I'm draining my primary phone's battery... and the less I risk damaging my primary phone.
I like phones to be slimmer due to no separate battery cartridge, but what I'd prefer is more standardization of the battery, the form factor, and when a cartridge, also the contact positions stay the same, that for each capacity plateau they be compatible between multiple makes and models of phone... sort of like how we developed standards for AA, AAA, C, D, etc primary cells way back when, and then Li-Ion rechargeables in more recent years. There's no reason that can't be done for flat pack instead of just cylindrical cells.
I don't agree with the concept of outdated. At one charge a day, I never get a phone that I don't expect to keep for 3+ years which is already up against the charge cycle limit before capacity is too low. I don't care if a newer phone has some feature I don't need or faster data. I'm apparently in the minority in that I don't stream video on my phone except for specific needs, not for recreational purposes.
Plus I have uses for old phones if the battery is viable, whether a media player or bluetooth dongle for vehicle code readers, whatever, the more I'm using a decommissioned phone, the less I'm draining my primary phone's battery... and the less I risk damaging my primary phone.
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Actually it's really just the tech minority that need and can afford the newest model every year. Most Americans try and hang on to their $1000 investments as long as possible. Have you heard about all the right to repair legal action going on in the US? Apple was forced to allow their devices to be fixed. John Deere's next. That's the new trend and it's just growing.
And like I said it's about time
I cannot WAIT for replaceable batteries again
But you dont have to buy an Apple product.
I replace phones every 2 to 3 years, never had a bad battery and much rather have a phone like my current iPhone 13 can be dropped into salt water up to 18 feet deep and not get damaged. Thank goodness we dont have these restrictions here. I'll take form, looks, function over replacing a battery anyday. Maybe the UK government should make their own phones with all those features. I am sure it will be a blockbuster... or not *LOL*
Well, the wife says we are an apple phone house... I was arguing just going all android but she wears the phone tech hat, and I don't really care which phone I've got if it does what I need....
She has the the find-a-phone thing, picture sharing and updating, calendars, music sharing, etc, all set up and she runs it, and it seems actually quite a PITA to run, but I suppose its better than trying to get an android phone involved. Plus from what I see trying to help my parent's, Android seems not great for a casual just get **** thing working user...
Why are you ranting about the UK? This law was passed by the EU. The UK is not a member of the European Union.
Oops, Eu … and ranting??? Ok
Well at least when people replace batteries on their own, instead of being responsibly recycled by repair centers they will get thrown in the household garbage.
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Yeah - my wife had a Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Certainly had no water resistance, but I could pop the back off with a fingernail. When the battery started going south, I managed to buy a new OEM battery from Amazon for less than $30.
But any new design meant to be water resistant can be iffy because of the use of adhesive seals. And they can be put together really tight. Apple is actually providing self-repair battery replacement kits, but the cost can be pretty high and doesn't include their tools.
IFixit dot com, has repair videos for Apple and Android cell phones and tablets to replace the battery and screens. It cost me $35 for the tools and battery to replace the battery in my Garmin GPS which cost me $400 back in 2011. I have lifetime maps so there was no way I was getting rid of it for a weak battery. 20 minutes to open it up install new battery and put it back together.
I just got my refurbished phone from Google this afternoon because the battery in my old phone committed suicide. Google only charged me $35, two days shipping both ways included, so it wasn't worth my time to replace the battery myself.
That is the only issue I have with these Smart phones, I wish the owner could just pop the back off and drop a new battery in when needed.
I just got my refurbished phone from Google this afternoon because the battery in my old phone committed suicide. Google only charged me $35, two days shipping both ways included, so it wasn't worth my time to replace the battery myself.
That is the only issue I have with these Smart phones, I wish the owner could just pop the back off and drop a new battery in when needed.
My first cell phone was a Nokia 5100 series where the OEM batteries were NiMH and attached to the back. The higher capacity battery was thicker, and there was also a standard capacity battery that included a vibration feature. Those were the days.
Except we had phones in the past that were slim and water proof. Galaxy S8 I think. I think Motorola and Nokia had few as well.
No, not the S8 that I know of, I just did a search and they show using a heat gun to get the back off. Also, water resistance of 4.5 feet compared to iPhone which is 18 feet is a huge difference.
I think the key here is let the consumer decide. The public didnt care and why replaceable batteries left the market. It was features over replaceable battery.
Must’ve been earlier then and back then iPhones didn’t have any water resistance rating at all. And they were “sealed”.
The point is that having a removable battery doesn’t mean the phone cannot be water resistant.
What customers choose is another story, but when people automatically make excuses for the corporations without even knowing that it was done in the past, it gets quite annoying.
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I have a very old Garmin GPS from back when we were still using old style Flip phones, before sealed smartphones were even a wet dream. It takes 4 AA batteries, and it was designed and sold to be completely waterproof... and it was, I accidentally "tested" it lol. It was shown floating in a river on the package if I remember correctly.. which was exactly how I tested it
It has a plastic back with a rubber gasket and an o ring around the clip style locking pin that holds the back on. It was a handheld unit that was about the dimensions of a modern smartphone except thicker because of the AA batteries. With modern lithium batteries that would no longer be a problem.
So Kris is right, if they were able to do that in the late 90's, I think they can make a waterproof smartphone with a replaceable battery in 2027
It's whether they really want to or not. And of course they don't, they don't want us keeping our phones for years and years, it's much more profitable to have us buy a new phone every 2 to 3 years when the battery wears out, rather than just buying another battery
I have had this problem with several work phones (iPhone & Android)-seems the company’s multiple “nanny” programs were KILLING battery life, the phones would go through huge amounts of data, even got hot while operating! When they replaced the iPhones & iPads with Android devices, they let us keep/buy cheap the 5th Gen iPads & iPhone 8s we were using-took all their bloatware off, battery issues disappeared.
