It's official: Smartphones will need to have replaceable batteries by 2027

L4sBot@lemmy.worldmod to Technology@lemmy.world – 1700 points –
It's official: Smartphones will need to have replaceable batteries by 2027
androidauthority.com

Do you miss phones with replaceable batteries? By 2027, you won't anymore because, by law, almost every smartphone will have them again.

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You can do that now with a heat gun and some very basic tools.

That's an overstatement. It takes a lot of work for some phones and you risk damaging it. Not everyone is able to do it even with the right tools. We need to have a solution so that anyone can do it

I literally bought an iFixIt kit to open my phone up (for a screen replace rather than a battery swap, but still) and could not get it open after an hour+ of trying. I'd definitely believe it's because I'm inexperienced in modern phone repair, but I'm not a generally unsavvy person. I build computers and mess around with tech as a hobbyist. I had to take it to a shop and return the kit. It's definitely not an easy process for some devices.

You can do that now with a heat gun and some very basic tools.

A heat gun is a specialized tool. That's the problem.

It's really not a specialized tool.l at all, there are a million things you can use a heat gun for. And they're like $20 at Harbor Freight.

A hair dryer?

Not nearly hot enough for these kinds of applications. And you seriously don't want to dry your hair with a heat gun.

It's like comparing a NERF gun to a howitzer, sure both shoot projectiles...

It's what I literally have used for multiple repairs now, so don't tell me it's not hot enough. iPhone 11, Pixel 5a, and a Samsung Galaxy S21.

People are gonna hate on this comment but it's true. I can replace the battery in my iPhone in an hour if I want to, even if it's not as easy as it used to be with removable plastic covers on the back of phones.

On the Fairphone everyone can do it, without tools in under 30 seconds. That is replaceable, not having to order equipment and asking your family "IT guy"...

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