All smartphones, including iPhones, must have replaceable batteries by 2027 in the EU::undefined
It’s NOT just phones.
It’s EVERYTHING with a battery. Including cars, laptops, e-bikes, video game controllers, headphones etc. (im not even sure if there are exceptions, such as tiny tiny “airpod” like things… ?)
And they must be (with a few exceptions) replacable by a “layman”, without the use of special tools - which means no heat pads, to soften up glue etc etc. (and for gods sake, i hope it also means apple can’t hardwareID lock a battery)
an exception mentioned in the EU document about the law says, high power batteries for example in an electric car, must be done by a profesional - but of course it still has to be “replacable” and not… tear the whole car apart and rebuild it using new batteries.
replacable batteries in headphones, bluetooth mice, laptops etc, is gonna be awesome.
and lets not forget, they have to recycle the old ones - and produce new batteries using recycled materials.
in fact, i will try to hold on replacing my current (2 year old) phone, and wait to get one before 2027. Usually the battery turns to shit in 3ish years.
I think apple will comply by including a dongle battery that can be replaced but no one will actually carry with their phone
The law says, “Designing portable batteries in appliances in such a way that consumers can themselves easily remove and replace them;”
Key part being “in appliances”.
They know with whom they are dealing
They better define the term «replacable» extensively !
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EU citizenship is a dream.
All we need now is a headphone jack
I’d be almost ready to say that we don’t need them any more if Bluetooth headphones were about 100x better and cheaper
Still too much lag. I love my QC45s, but there’s still just enough lag to bother me
Bluetooth headphones are solid now, as long as you have something that supports aptx HD and LL (HD for music, LL for movies/games). But yeah they’re not cheap.
At the same time, wired earphones/headphones are already just as good with a lot less parts/complexity.
You don’t need batteries, radios, and chips for coding/decoding a signal coming out of a headphone jack. You can just plumb it straight into the speakers. No need to mess with controls and all of that, which would make them a lot cheaper.
Don’t forget how new Bluetooth headphones require that you download an app to set up the headphone. So a whole new data harvesting broker forces itself right where an audiojack used to be.
Check on the AppStore’s the kind of personal data one has to handover to tune the headphones. Total fuckery!
Bluetooth 5+ definitely made wired headphones obsolete for me.
But now you have to charge two things rather than one. Some people would prefer not to have to do that.
We need SD cards more. They removed them so they can charge you 300 $ to upgrade 128gb and to force you into shitty cloud service.
Again, just anti consumer bullshit spearheaded by Apple and gargled by Samsung.
I have flashbacks to using external storage on Android. It was such a shit show of an API. That being said, external storage, to break away from cloud storage is the next needed thing. We need to own the data.
When you design an OS to pretend there’s no such thing as a file, it ends up being bad at handling files.
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Yeah, even today, browsing through files on Android is a fucking mess. And there isn’t an SD card.
So the SD card wasn’t the problem
It’s perfectly fine on Sony Xperia.
Which did away with the headphone jack and asks €400 for crap performance.
Nah I’m sticking to my Samsung XCover
Xperia IV aren’t crap performance but they are 3x €400
It was the SOC that wasn’t great. Nothing to do with the manufacturers.
I was trying to figure out recently how do I copy files into application user data directory, it turns out you just can’t, lol.
You can with very basic root tools, but really that just solidifies your point. It’s an easy thing to do, but they’ve intentionally taken away the ability for no good reason
Again, just anti consumer bullshit spearheaded by Apple and gargled by Samsung.
Samsung was actually one of the later Android manufacturers to drop it is my recollection.
Yeh and fuck them
Agreed
Can’t imagine that getting mandated unfortunately
Definitely. Never understood why some manufacturers removed jacks
I personally prefer my bluetooth headphones, but it’s not like bluetooth and jacks can’t exist on the same device…
Plus, pairing bluetooth in a car can be annoying as fuck. Looking at you, Nissan
I feel like BT pairing and functionality in cars has always been shit. I have issues in my 2020 Ford, had issues in my 2015 and 2018 bmws, and my gf has issues in her Toyota.
Because they do the bare minimum to meet the spec so that they could advertise it then. They still do the bare minimum now.
BT pairing in our Ram works fine, and it works fine with the aftermarket Pioneer radio in my car. I’ve never had a major issue with either one with any phone I’ve owned, iPhone or Android.
For our Mazda, though, BT pairing does not work reliably with my Samsung S21 - it’s okay for phone calls (in fact, the car “steals” my calls if I’m on the phone at home and my wife gets home with the car), but for music it almost never works correctly, unless I’m also using Android Auto, which is rare because I just don’t need it for most day-to-day drives. The BT phone and music works fine for my wife’s iPhone, though.
I blame the car - my phone works just fine with several sets of Bluetooth headsets, and the other two car stereos. I think Mazda just didn’t bother to do any debugging before they shipped that piece of shit to the dealers. (This theory is based on other bugs we’ve found in the infotainment system as well.)
Yeah I want a headphone jack, but the truth is that I can’t remember the last time I used mine. I have an old phone plugged into an old amp that I can play Spotify through, otherwise I use bt.
Yeah, they could coexist. I’m partial to non-bluetooth, but only because they come in shapes that I find more comfortable, and I’ve yet to find bluetooth ones that don’t make my ears hurt
You know there’s ways you can change that, right? There’s different sizes you can get for the piece that goes in your ear and they often come with the headphones/ear buds.
Yes, I just haven’t found any that I found comfortable with yet
Money from selling true wireless earbuds was too enticing. Even Fairphone made them and removed headphone jack and spat nonsense that it was a “point of failure.”
Headphone jacks are a 19th century invention, if having them restricts innovation then I am all for removing them.
So are speakers and batteries.
True, but we don’t have any practical alternatives for them.
What’s the practical alternative to headphone jacks? Bluetooth is crap and carrying around extra dongles is annoying.
Bluetooth headphones are more practical due to not having wires. Jack is better for latency.
Practical for some scenarios, but impractical in others. A headphone jack also offers better sound quality overall and a less flaky connection, with no audio cutouts. It’s not just latency, it’s a superior and more reliable way to transmit high quality audio. And there’s no battery to worry about charging. And a standard set of wired headphones can last for DECADES while a Bluetooth headset will start to die in about five years or less because the battery is non-replaceable lithium-ion. And there’s no concern about whether your wired headphones are optimized for Android or iPhone, it’s a standardized connector with an identical experience on both. And there’s no issue with wireless interference on the 2.4GHz band that Bluetooth operates on.
I can come up with more if you want.
Technically 20th century, if I’m not mistaken? I just don’t see how they would restrict innovation, I guess
Apparently it’s based on a plug invented in 1878, according to the BBC.
By that logic let’s just replace the most superior household plug. The 3 pin UK plug.
Interesting! It’s cool to know how stuff we use/used was developed
We can’t only consider innovation today, we also have to consider its ecological impact. Jack plugs and headphones are way more durable than Bluetooth equivalent. I have 16 yo jack headset that still works perfectly, I only had to change the cushions twice.
So stop making any technological advancement because of the potential impact of e-waste? Not saying it’s a bad thing but it will have have its own environmental implications. No new energy development, we have to rely on existing oil and nuclear technology rather than investing in making renewable energy sources cheaper and more efficient.
At the point we are at, yes we have to make a major change, e-waste is an immense problem for many years and we are only starting to fight it.
Inventions not thinking about e-waste at all shouldn’t be allowed anymore.
It’s not an either-or situation, we can do both at the same time, we just have to consider environmental impact as an essential component of innovation.
It’s specifically the wire that always breaks first. How can they be more durable?
If you can financially, buy (second-hand) higher-end material, it will come with stronger wires and stronger connections.
For example, see the difference in the constraints damper on these connectors:
vs Apple’s:
Jack being simple technology, it’s also very easy to get it repaired by the nearby tech enthusiast armed with a soldering iron.
To add to that, many IEMs (and many other headphones too probably) come with removable cables.
You can repair a broken cable fairly easily.
When you buy wireless headphones you know upfront that they will die within a few years and you will not be able to replace the tiny glued in, oddly shaped batteries they come with.
I like the convenience of BT at times, but I really miss having headphone jacks and hate having to bring adaptors with me.
Unless there’s an alternative, no it’s not restricting innovation.
The argument was saving space for other parts. That’s true in a way. But if things needed we should have this space. What’s next? Saving the space of the charger? /s
So tempted to wait until 2027 to buy my next iPhone
Lol
Honestly good. Usb C is so good.
I have a couple of 100w chargers around the house, no messing about can charge nearly everything at full speed.
Apple in 2027: This is not a battery, it’s a…umm … Ultra High Density Low Current Super Capacitor.
EU: Ok, then in addition to that UHDLCSC you also need a removable battery.
they’ll find a place to shove one of these
Yay! Another dongle!
And apple consumers will celebrate it.
Introducing the UHDLCSC portable charger (which it technically a battery you can attach via USB-C-iLightningSpec©)
It might actually force them to develop inductively powered devices or some similar magic
I came across this insane opinion piece the other day: https://www.laptopmag.com/features/mind-eurown-business-for-the-sake-of-the-iphone-apple-needs-to-fight-back
It’s so surreal, it feels satirical
Say, “We at Apple, Think Different.” and refuse to be shepherded into the flock with the likes of the dirty android heathens. You can’t give in so easily. First, they’ll take your Lightning ports, then they’ll take your internal battery and IP68 rating, and before you know it, they’ll take your blue iMessage bubble too.
At that point, why even bother? You might as well throw a Qualcomm Snapdragon in the next iPhone and call it a day. Congratulations Apple, you have the best UI of any Android phone on the market.
What the actual fuck?
You swear this isn’t satire?
and before you know it, they’ll take your blue iMessage bubble too
Nobody tell this guy what the EU’s Digital Markets Act means for Apple and iMessage…
I haven’t heard of this. What does it mean?
Messaging services need to be interoperable.
Man, Tim Apple sounds pissed.
I love how higher IP rating is always the argument, it looks like everybody in this planet is doing daily deep diving and needs its smartphone to do that 😅
My Galaxy XCover 6Pro has a removable battery (and headphone jack) and is ip68 rated
I have a Samsung Xcover (5, not 6) and this thing is such a breath of fresh air!
16:9 screen, audio jack, good USB-C, SD card, removable battery, physical shortcut button that’s programmable to anything, decent performance (some newer phone games like Genshin don’t run well, but emulated NDS games or Morrowind? Just fine!)
And this is SAMSUNG‽
Where’s the world going‽
You’d think they’d figure out a way to have those high IP ratings and have removable batteries (they have afaik)
Phones with IP67 or even IP68 exist with easily replaceable batteries.
I sure hope it’s satire, but that pun!
“Mind EUROwn business?” chef’s kiss
I… Couldn’t even make it through the whole article. Absolutely insane.
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Are you sure it isn’t satire? I prefer to believe it is.
it feels satirical
That’s because it is satire.
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Not a bad idea but there are flaws and this also doesn’t seem to address the issue of pricing or availability.
- So you can remove the battery, will you be able to buy one.
- They could prevent 3rd parties from making batteries that work.
- They could just not sell battery replacements.
- They could add more parts needed, like seals, screws that strip too easily, that annoying sticky tape etc.
Is the glass half full or half empty? For you, I guess it’s half empty.
Rules can be updated and tightened if needed. This is a good step, another could be taken if they don’t play nice.
This insufferable shit is exhausting
The neat thing about EU regulations is that they are iterated over constantly, so even if they don’t get it 100% right the first time, they’re able to nail things down in subsequent iterations. Look at how quickly they struck down any fantasies Apple had of still fucking people over with their own type c implementation fuckery. The direction the EU is taking is already doing plenty good for the entire world.
We already have regulations about spare parts availability and pricing for some devices (mainly household appliances) - and it is planned to slowly enforce regulation for other device types over time. They’ll watch the market, and if apple decides to be stupid that’ll come pretty quickly.
Just like with the appliances where some vendors had their shops ready way before regulation we already have some phone vendors prepare for that - like Nokia selling some spares via ifixit. So if apple decides to play stupid games it’ll be up against vendors that’ll be completely fine pushing regulation through quickly as hurting apple will only benefit them.
Honestly, I’m all for it if it means bringing back ridiculously sized phone batteries with huge bumps that can act as a finger shelf. My note 2 with a 4200mah battery was a beast in 2013.
The Note 2 was my favorite phone. The replaceable back with the cover option was the best. Want your phone to look brand new? That’ll only cost $20.
I never replaced the battery though.
Or the Zero Lemon 9000mAh battery back for that phone. Insane capacity, but a “tad” bulky.
Totally forgot about the complete back replacements like that! I’ll take 5. . Week long battery life here I come.
Good thing to wake up to in the morning.
I really don’t like the idea of governments regulating tech and innovations. Although this seems like a good idea, it could severely limit companies in the way they design their phones.
People think that Apple and Samsung maliciously make irreplaceable batteries, but these people barely know how to use their phone in the first place, much less how the phone was engineered. Battery implementation in super thin devices is not a simple affair. Requiring tech to have certain things is really dumb. Let the capitalistic market and buyers figure out what they need. Don’t force it through government.
Although I am also very much against government control over things and believe that for every one good control law from the government, we get 5 things that infringe upon our rights, I believe this particular legislation is a good one. I don’t think that phone manufacturers maliciously make irreplaceable batteries (although they do many other malicious things, so who knows), but there was a race for thinness back in the mid-2000s when irreplaceable batteries were “invented”; now it’s just inertia. In any case, I can see a demand for fully repairable items and believe that the market is moving in that direction; governments are just pushing it a little.
we can do better than soldered batteries inside unopenable super thin phone cases. These companies have no motivation to innovate any sort of repairability, and now they will have it.
Lol this is such bull shit
It’s not about motivation it’s about need
Nobody is clamoring for this accept the EU government and some right to repair fanatics who most likely don’t repair jack in their own lives and haven’t needed nor requested replacement smartphone batteries
Because nobody needs them anymore lol. Market buddy if this was something important we’d be getting it
Agreed. Too bad the 11 disagrees didn’t have the stones to voice their dissenting opinion
