Isn't the main issue whether or not there's an ease to replace? There's like 20 steps and a bunch of easily breakable cables involved with replacing it currently.
I mean I think you can replace the Switch's battery too by that standard.
Same site even says it's only 1 extra step in total, though instead of the cables being in the way, it sounds like the shields a bit more difficult.
But like either of these replacements would require a technical user to do it.
A battery that can be popped out and replaced, with no tools and no risk of damaging any of the other hardware on the board.
Just supplying the tools and steps is absolutely not enough. We're talking about replacing a part on a $300+ machine. Most people would be scared to do that purely on the merits they couldn't afford to replace if something went wrong.
If this is considered replaceable, I wonder what an non-replaceable battery would be. Soldered to the main board and trying to unsolder it causes a failsafe to short the CPU?
Nah. The battery on my old Samsung Galaxy S4 literally just pops out with minor force applied as soon as the cover is off, leaving the phone ready for a new one to be slotted in. That is what "user replaceable" means.
Don't get me wrong, I am familiar with electronics, have a diploma in electrical engineering, have soldered hundreds/thousands of components, etc. and I could do this easily (though I have concerns about heating the battery). But most people cannot currently replace the battery without significant headaches.
Not really. Look up the Linus Tech Tips teardown. The battery is glued in super hard. Linus said he spoke to Valve about that and according to him Valve said they're looking into making it easier to replace at a later date. Since then I've not seen any reports about a change.
i think 'user replaceable' should involve no tools, and a minimum of time. if step one involves removing eight tiny screws, and it only gets more cumbersome from there, i don't think it counts.
The currebt rule says "No propritary tools" which seems reasonable when you add in that glueing in is considered "non-replacable" too. The GBA SP needed a single screw to hold in it's battery and nothing else. Plus with proper threading, screws last much longer than plastic clips.
There's something to be said for this as well certainly but I do think the deck is still much better overall than will be required since they actually offer spare parts for sale for pretty much everything and repair guides too.