Meanwhile I have never replaced a battery in my iPhones, they have all lasted years, more recent ones with optimized charging seem like no noticeable degradation.
This kind of law would be similarly idiotic in EV's now they can't use structural batteries to lower weight? Why isn't there a law mandating easily removable gas tanks in cars?
There were plenty of phones with removable batteries for many years. They left the market because there is barely a market for them. Once you have multiple day battery life and batteries that last 5+ years with little degradation in slim fully waterproof designs nobody cares about swapping batteries easily, take it in to the shop if the fuel tank needs replacing or trade it in for a new one.
Because the petrol tank won’t have shrunk to half its capacity in a few years’ time.
So lets have a complicated waterproof quick release battery case adding weight and volume to the phone so that its easy to replace once every 5 years...
https://amp.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jun/23/samsung-a...
I'm sure waterproof/damage resistent phones can be made along with easy replaceable batteries. It's a policy issue not an engineering one. Worst case scenario they could provide you a "kit" to replace the battery(i.e a special screwdriver like they do for the SIM card)
>> Force manufacturers to sell spare parts which can be used to service the phones.
I think there is already an EU law for that that will come into effect soon.
>> - Mandate Updates for long periods. How is it okay for a phone to have 2 years of updates?
This should be the next step and I'm sure it will happen soon. Part of the solution to this is the incoming law that will force Apple to accept apps outside of its store and 3rd party appstores. That way app updates will no longer be restricted by Apple. Next should be a law to provide security OS updates for at least (i.e 10 years) or open (source) the OS for 3rd party updates.
One thing is sure. There must be laws to stop the planned obsolescence. It went too far and is detrimental to both the consumer and the environment.
They are still glued. Replacement is possible, but requires skill, tools (heating, shim) and replacement seals. Definitely not "easy".
>I don't think Apple is trying to make the iPhones slimmer or lightweight-er.
If that were true there would be lots of space in the device.
> It's a policy issue not an engineering one
It is definitely an engineering issue. Removable backs are hard to do and hard to do right.
I like the intentionality you have when you type with a physical keyboard. Been focusing on UIs as of late and think we lose something when our interfaces are purely digital.
Completely idiotic and out of touch. Phones are glued shut for a reason. User replacable batteries are not compatible with slim waterproof phones.
My last phone lasted almost 5 years. It survived that long because water didn't kill it. Yes, I would have liked to just replace the battery at some point, but if I could have, it wouldn't have lasted as long.
If you want people to use their phones for long you have to:
- Not impede the manufacturers ability to create water/damage resistant phones.
- Force manufacturers to sell spare parts which can be used to service the phones.
- Mandate Updates for long periods. How is it okay for a phone to have 2 years of updates? At that point battery degrdaation isn't even that relevant.