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EU votes to mandate removable batteries in smartphones in a landslide; no more glued together junk!

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2020/0798/COM_COM(2020)0798_EN.pdf

https://wccftech.com/new-eu-law-demands-replaceable-smartphone-batteries/

Additional video on this:

A new EU law will require all mobile devices to have user-replaceable batteries by 2027. In this episode we take a look at the law, it's consequences and right to repair.

ColdFusion on YT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo-k-Qosy8A

About Coldfusion:

Hi, my name is Dagogo Altraide and I create and narrate all the videos on here. This channel aims to let you experience the cutting edge of the world around us in a relaxed atmosphere. Learn the captivating stories about how our world came to be and also learn what's happening in the cutting edge today.

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  • i bought a little waterproof Panasonic digicam in 2010, i have taken it to do whitewater rafting, to the beach, to swimming pools, it has removable battery, removable memory card and USB connection, lil shit still works to this day

    • Even older, Sony made a Walkman in the '90's that was waterproof, and also happened to split in half entirely to accept a cassette tape. Any claims that manufacturers "can't" implement battery compartments or other moving parts while maintaining some level of waterproofing is so far beyond disingenuous bullshit, it's passed right through and come out the other side. Plenty of those friggin' things wound up dunked in swimming pools back in the day -- mine certainly did -- without incident. Consumers spend upwards of $1000 on a flagship smart phone these days. For that kind of money, these fuckers can figure out how to give it both a removable battery and a full feature set.

      And before the Apple shills, naysayers, and apologists all leap out of the woodwork (as they've been doing incessantly every time this argument comes around), this EU regulation does not stipulate that manufacturers have to use oldschool back-comes-off-with-your-fingers, flies-apart-when-you-drop-it, flip phone style battery covers. That's a straw man if ever there's been one. There is nothing stopping them from holding battery compartments shut with screws, which would certainly help with structural integrity and waterproofing concerns. Despite the implication in the synopsis, it does not appear that the need for tools is explicitly prohibited by the regulation. This quote is shown in the video above, but does not actually appear in the text of the regulation:

      No tool... or set of tools that is supplied with the product or spare part, or basic tools. The process for replacement shall be able to be carried out by a layman.

      The text actually states:

      Portable batteries incorporated in appliances shall be readily removable and replaceable by the end-user or by independent operators during the lifetime of the appliance, if the batteries have a shorter lifetime than the appliance, or at the latest at the end of the lifetime of the appliance. A battery is readily replaceable where, after its removal from an appliance, it can be substituted by a similar battery, without affecting the functioning or the performance of that appliance.

      It's on page 55, if anyone wants to dig through the thing themselves.

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