iPhones to get replaceable batteries? As crackdown spreads, know what is coming

Smartphones with replaceable batteries to make a comeback, even iPhones will have to get it! EU crackdown is forcing companies’ hands, including Apple. Know why it will be good for you.

iPhones could get easily replaceable batteries soon. (Unsplash)

Smartphones have gone through a major evolution in the last decade or so, but not every upgrade has been for the good. Although several groundbreaking improvements such as notch displays, flagship processors, better cameras, and sleek designs have improved the user experience, there has been a major loss in one segment - the battery. User-replaceable batteries disappeared and manufacturers started offering internal batteries instead. Changing them became exorbitantly expensive or impossible. This left legions of disgruntled users globally.

However, things could change again soon due to the EU's crackdown against tech companies. The new EU regulations are directed at reducing e-waste produced by big tech companies.

Advantages

iPhones have always had non-removable batteries, but that wasn't the case with Android phones, at least until 2015 when most manufacturers started swapping the user-replaceable batteries with internal ones. Samsung too took that route along with all the other Android phone manufacturers. While this was done to make the smartphone more sleek and appealing it caused a major problem - What do we do when the battery degrades?

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Up until this point, if your smartphone's battery deteriorated, you could simply swap it out for a new one by removing the back cover. Users didn't have to visit the authorized service center to get the battery replaced. It was economical too, as the only cost you'd have to bear was that of a new battery, without any additional labor cost.

It isn't the case anymore as replacing internal batteries requires experienced technicians and that costs both time and money for the user.

Resurrection of user-replaceable batteries

However, things could go back to the way there were soon as the EU officially announced earlier this month that all smartphones should have replaceable batteries by 2027, as part of the new regulation which aims to reduce the e-waste generated by big tech companies. The regulation states that all appliances, including smartphones, EVs, and electric bikes, should have “removable and replaceable by the end-user”.

The EU proposal reads, "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."

This means that users should be able to swap them for a new one without the requirement of any technical expertise.