How politics work in 2023:

99% of smartphone users: "Non-replaceable batteries should be illegal."

Legality of non-replaceable batteries: true

Meanwhile the EU:

"The regulation provides that by 2027 portable batteries incorporated into appliances should be removable and replaceable by the end-user - -"
https://consilium.europa.eu/en/...

@electrineer whoa I had no idea!

"The regulation introduces labelling and information requirements, among other things on the battery's components and recycled content, and an electronic “battery passport” and a QR code."

Sounds like they took a page out of Framework's book

@electrineer At least they managed to pass such stuff.

Not sure how the right to repair is going in the US but what a shitshow is that...

@electrineer funny that that the EU manages to regulate devices that are mostly made elsewhere but right to repair in cars and vehicles is still a major shit show

I mean I'm not complaining about them regulating phones.
But I wish they'd make it mandatory for car manufacturers to hand out service manuals for their shit. And ideally blueprints, assembly instructions and firmware for parts they dont produce anymore.

@electrineer 2027 is 14 years late.

https://androidforums.com/threads/...

Better late than never. However, in an ideal world, non-replaceable batteries would be banished before the next sunrise.

I wish all my devices had replaceable batteries too, but if most people did, the LG G5 would have sold like hotcakes. You, and the EU, just want to force your opinion on everyone.

@novasurp Opinion? Replaceable batteries are objectively superior. Batteries are the shortest-lived part of electronic devices. That is a fact, not an opinion.

Do I need to mention that the Galaxy S4 sold over 80 million times?

@novasurp In a totally unregulated market with manufacturers that are accountable to no one, people buy what they expect to be reliable based on whatever little trustworthy evidence (even empirical) they have. To create a balanced market where people decide objectively, we need reliability guarantees (no, a six month warranty is not a reliability guarantee) and maintainable, repairable devices.

As it stands, a manufacturer can decommission any device unilaterally by ceasing to ship updates or cripple it by shipping an update that optimizes wrong metrics such as Apple's legendary battery lifetime maximization that rendered old iPhones uselessly slow. It would be nice if this could emerge without regulation but it didn't, and tautologically stating that it didn't emerge therefore it isn't beneficial isn't productive. The invisible hand of the market is a metaphor for an observation, not a natural force.