zlacker

>>skille+(OP)
I feel like the elephant in the room is that there's no phone battery that's going to stay useful in anywhere close to that time frame, and replacing phone batteries is usually a losing proposition. I've tried, several times. Fake, low-quality batteries are rampant (usually degrading within weeks), and genuine ones are prohibitively expensive -- usually a significant fraction of the cost of a new phone.

>>wheels+B7
The other elephant in the room is that the EU is going to start mandating user-replaceable batteries in consumer electronics, and hopefully the US follows suit or big tech just decides to do it worldwide.

I absolutely despise that Apple made non-replaceable batteries the norm, and most of us have begun to accept this as "the way things have always been". Every cell phone I had before the iPhone came out had an easily replaceable battery before we all became a slave to Ives' "Preciousssss" demands for minimalism.

Edit: Folks seem to be misunderstanding why I brought up Apple. I in no way think they are now worse than any other phone manufacturer when it comes to irreplaceable batteries. But AFAIK the iPhone was the first phone to have a glued-in battery, and that has since become the norm. They have essentially helped lead the way in convincing consumers that replacing the battery shouldn't be an easy, user-accessible operation.

>>hn_thr+9A
If the EU does mandate it, like USB-C we will see the corresponding iPhone release tout how they have the greenest batteries and an amazing (same number) X hours of batterylife, but only the greenest battery life.

Snark aside and how most phones/etc are put together these days, I see issues in the general population of replacing the battery if it requires opening the case.

>>jmspri+xW
> Snark aside and how most phones/etc are put together these days, I see issues in the general population of replacing the battery if it requires opening the case.

Every phone (before the advent of eSims) used to come with a simple sim-opening tool that made it trivial to open the sim tray. I find it baffling to think that phone manufacturers would find it so difficult to add some teeny screws or other fasteners that could be easily opened with a 2 cent tool that would come with the phone.

>>hn_thr+OY
It adds to the cost of goods and probably the manufacturing process. Yes, you used to be able to replace batteries easily. Most are long, thin & flat to go with slimmer phones. Possible, for sure, but we will see.

>>jmspri+g11
Apple is one of the most advanced consumer electronics companies on the planet. I may question its utility, but their VR headset is one of the most amazing feats of consumer product engineering I've ever seen. So excuse my scepticism if "replaceable battery" is somehow beyond their engineering and product design prowess.

>>hn_thr+x81
I don't doubt they would be able to do so. I think the choice of doing so, maintaining esthetics, and making it such that a layman can do it while not making tradeoffs they don't want to probably play into it.

>>jmspri+Rf1
And keeping the phone as water resistant