Apple Explains Why It Won’t Make iPhones With Replaceable Batteries
The European Union is working on legislation that would require smartphone design to have easily replaceable batteries, but we doubt Apple would agree willingly.
The EU dont care.. lol
If I remember correctly: If it is watertight, replaceable batteries are not required. EZ way to skirt around this stuff.
Nah.
To ensure the safety of end-users, this Regulation should provide for a limited derogation for portable batteries from the removability and replaceability requirements set for portable batteries concerning appliances that incorporate portable batteries and that are specifically designed to be used, for the majority of the active service of the appliance, in an environment that is regularly subject to splashing water, water streams or water immersion and that are intended to be washable or rinseable.
So watertight is definitely enough of a reason.
That's really stupid, waterproof phones with replaceable batteries are certainly possible and have been done before.
Until you use some of that money for lobbying political influence they don’t.
Facebook can get away with advertising literal scam to kids and old people alike and there are no consequences for them.
It is called a rubber o-ring.
That's how other companies have been making water-tight compartments for batteries and other things for literally decades now. But all of a sudden, Apple wants to pretend this is some unsolvable problem. For fucks sakes stop acting like this is some insane ask, goddamn it.
No other government body is as consumer-friendly as the EU, so I really hope this bill passes and forces Apple to comply. I am so sick of the bullshit from these megacorporations who are so big they just don't give a flying fuck about what consumers want. And on the flipside, there are going to be a million Apple apologists who will side with Apple on this topic. Those bootlickers only make things worse for everyone.
Just wait, Apple will solve this with a rubber o-ring and will receive heaps of praise for their innovation.
EU wasn't asking bro
They tried asking before, with the charging connector. Apple effectively ignored them for about a decade, so they're going with the firmer option now.
Govs should never ask. They must implement the regulation. The corporations are so greedy, they will follow for the money.
So glad to see the Apple fans here aren't a bunch of blind yesmen. With an R&D budget the size of Apple's I am sure theres a way to figure somwthing out.
Especially since waterproof phones with replaceable batteries already existed. They aren't exactly working from nothing.
Really refreshing to see Apple fans who have not forgotten they are consumers who have features they want as opposed to accepting whatever decision is made for them.
Other site was a weird mix of people who seemed less Apple consumers and shared more in common with Apple shareholders with the lengths they'd go to defend things from Apple's financial point of view.
Indeed, I personally consider myself an apple fan but there are definitely things that are bad. People who think apple has done only good and defend them at all time are just imo thr worst.
use 3M's post-it note glue.
It seems they are not going to make batterie replaceable without a fight. The waterproof excuse is crap, they already don’t give us repairs if the iphone is « water dommage » and they can just make a new water resistant design around the new requirements
Same lame excuse they used for removing the headphone jack... Never forget what they took from us and the shitty trend they started in the industry
The waterproof excuse is crap
Yep. Galaxy S5, released 9 years ago with an IP67, removable battery, sd card and headphone jack with a back you could open with a fingernail.
Yep. Galaxy S5, released 9 years ago with an IP67, removable battery, sd card and headphone jack with a back you could open with a fingernail.
Spot on. They boast about how the iPhone is IP68, but IPX7 means...
Protected from immersion in water with a depth of up to 1 meter (or 3.3 feet) for up to 30 mins
There may be a tradeoff, but I'll take this level of waterproofing with a removable battery over being able to dunk my phone under water for 2 hours without a removable battery. Like that's an easy choice.
It's all moot anyway. This is just Apple trying to justify their anti-consumer standpoint of wanting to own the device after it's been bought, like every other fucking manufacturer out there. We will own nothing and we'll be happy about it.
What a horseshit excuse: add 6 screws on your backplate, give it a frame with center glass, add a grommet. Give a torque setting for the screws to have a good seal in your instructions. L
Done.
Samsung did this shit years ago in a phone with a replaceable plastic back.
Samsung still does it. It's called the Xcover lineup.
jeeeeesus christ, the idea that a component in your MOBILE PHONE will never need repair is a one-way ticket to fucking landfill electronics.
add a gasket, holy shit it’s waterproof again!
I mean, they said it never needs to be repaired, so just offer a lifetime warranty if it degrades. Should be easy enough
It would be great if the EU steps back:
Dear phone manufacturers. It seems to be impossible to build water resistant phones with easily replaceable batteries. So we have an alternative for you: In future you must provide a unconditional, professional battery replacement, free of charge for 10 years for each individual phone which is water resistant. Since the phones are so water resistant you also have to replace all water damaged phones free of charge.
2 hours later Apple announces a keynote for next week. A week later Tim Cook presents us next years iPhone with an easily replaceable battery…
Liars! Galaxy S5 was IP67. One of the Xperia phones (forgot which one) was also water resistant but without an IP rating. IIRC one of the HTC phones was also water resistant. At the very least Apple, don’t piss in our faces and tell us it’s raining.
I owned the Galaxy S5 and I fucking HATED it’s design. You dropped the phone and it backplate flew off, the seals were terrible, the stupid flap on the charging port broke off super fast. Let’s not use the S5 as an example because that shit fucking sucked.
what do you call those little plastic building blocks ?
Lego?
My old ass Galaxy S5 had a ip67 rating, dropped it into a pool once and still working to this day, so apple and the rest of these phone manufacturers can piss off with this flimsy excuse especially when they're charging me hundreds of dollars.
Apple needs to have a look at the new Surface devices: https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/14/23761037/microsoft-surface-spare-replacement-parts-microsoft-store and https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/11/23453263/microsoft-surface-pro-9-repairability-improved-ifixit-teardown
Microsoft now sells Surface replacement parts, including displays, batteries, and SSDs / If you have a modern Surface device, then there are plenty of replacement parts to choose from.
Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9 has (...) now has a screwed-in battery module as opposed to an adhered one. Between that and other components having become more modular over the years, repairability is actually achievable.
But instead they're already removed to the press about this new regulations. This is the same crap they pulled with USB-C, still no USB-C iPhones whatsoever and unlike everyone else I'm not confident it will happen this year. To be frank Apple even decided to srew the customer even more by having newer iPhones come with USB-C to lightening cables and without a charger instead of plain USB-A.
230$ for a battery!! They have lost their minds lol.
Well, still better than 1000$ for a new iPhone because you can't replace it yourself, Apple won't do it for almost the price of a new phone and they lock 3rd party batteries with serialization :) and you can buy 3rd party batteries for a fraction of the cost. What matters is that 1) you can replace the battery - no glued, soldered bs and 2) they actually sell them.
Surface is literally twice the thickness of the iPhone (14 vs 7mm). That makes a waterproof iPhone with user-replaceable battery very very difficult, especially since users complained that iphones are heavier than previous models.
iPhone with user-replaceable battery very very difficult
Isn't Apple allegedly good at engineering? I'm sure they could find a way. There are old Nokia phones that are as thick as current iPhones (or less) and have use-replaceable batteries. This has nothing to do with waterproof, its all about their continued interest in using planned obsolesce and other means to sell new devices.
Unwillingly is also fine with me.
Fuck water, I want to change my battery.
It's not even that hard. I had a Galaxy S5, which had Micro-B and a replaceable battery. It's called using a Cover on your USB Port, and a RUBBER GASKET. It's not rocket psychology.
Money. Answer every single time is money
and here I thought it was always DNS
True
Why? Because fuck you, that's why.
I hate Apple, but I'm not going to pretend that a lot of other phones are as unfixable, or close to.
My mom's air has a sticky key. They wanted over $500 to fix it and I watched a video on what all that entails, not thrilled to try it. Apple does this shit on purpose.
"EU explains why it doesn't care that Apple is refusing to make non replaceable batteries"
Screws and gaskets. Fuck you apple.
Force them to cover all water damage under warranty. And let them void the water damage warranty if you replace the battery. This will remove their bad excuse if « keeping the phone waterproof » as it will acknowledge that opening it breaks the seal.
I’ve commented this elsewhere but it wouldn’t surprise me if they actually over engineer the replaceable battery and incorporate their MagSafe tech or something to make replacement batteries prohibitively expensive but technically follows EU rules. Seems like a very Apple malicious compliance outcome.
I don't hope it will be like this but i would also love to see this concept irl. Seems like something rly interesting
The first thought that came to my mind was internal solid state power storage (good for an hour or so, but will outlive the rest of the phone) with an external MagSafe battery. Call it MC, but that’s definitely a more Apple UX than disassembling your water resistant phone.
They will though, at least in Europe. Otherwise they will lose that market entirely
Apple does love to take designs that makes their devices enter the realm of disposable tech. Like soldering storage and ram on their MacOS running devices in the name of speed, but one that is not noticeable to the average user. And decreases peoples ability to upgrade it to use even longer like they did the older macs.
So fighting against replaceable batteries seems along the line for them.
tl;dr apple won't do that because it's special
Shame on apple
One year ago I brought my PinePhone with replaceable battery into the sea and it's still working!
I could accept an adjustment where manufacturers only need to provide an option in the current generation, I.E. they can sell iPhone 16s that don't have a replaceable battery, as long as they sell an equivalent version that does. The argument for waterproofing seems fair to me, so the best approach in my mind would be to give that choice to consumers.
I would think that as long as a battery is replaceable, it should suffice to meet environmental requirements.
Specifically regarding the iPhone, with the current battery replacement cost being under $100, I find it difficult to understand this being such an issue where an entire continent needs to make a rule against the design.
But I understand some people just want the ability to fix their own shit without having to bring it in for service. And I know this isn't just about phones but nearly everything that has a battery.
Steve would probably come back from the grave the day Apple releases a Nokia style plastic back iPhone
The answer: Apple wants to rip people off.
Don’t know what they’re going on about. They are easy to replace. I’ve done it myself. Takes about 20 min.