Hopefully this doesn't go the way of charging cables and we have a different battery shape for every phone... Otherwise a 2040 regulation will be to standardize battery shape(s)

God bless the EU.

Remember to vote to keep this up next June, my fellow Europeans

God I love Europe so much <3

Now let me replace the operating system, have unified drivers and I'll be fine with it

They should do the same for laptops

We've gone full circle. This used to be the way!

It is a special day when there is happy tech news. This is a day for celebration. Having done my own battery replacements some have been a nightmare to do with all the glue and hoping the screen doesn't break. I look forward to this, since with rise of phone costs I don't intend to update frequently. I'd actually change my battery annually if it wasn't such a hassle.

Sometimes the EU is just based af.

The headline says it's official. But then the article mentions -

Now, the only step left is for the European Council and Parliament to sign on the dotted line.

So it's not official?? Can anyone explain please??

I don‘t know how to feel about this. While It’s nice to be able to replace the battery, I very much prefer the durability of todays phones over those flimsy removable back plates that used to be common in the 00s.

I really hope they mean that no special tools/skill are required. They should just standardize one type of micro screwdriver that everyone has to use.

Replaceable batteries inevitably also have to be sturdier s.t. they don‘t pose a fire hazard, making the entire phone bulkier or reducing battery life.

My iPhone XR is now over 4 years old and battery capacity is still at 80%, getting me through the day easily.
Before that I had an iPhone 4s where I replaced the battery after ~6 years. I was really disappointed with the new battery and ended up buying a new phone anyway after a few weeks.

My phone is the device that I use the most by a huge margin. It doesn‘t bother me too much if I have to replace it every 5-6 years. And I‘m pretty environmetally conscious in general.

I really don’t think they should be dictating how companies must design their products. My guess is Apple either pulls out of Europe , or has a phone sold only there that’s much thicker and bulky and ugly. That being said I can’t see them making that phone as goes against the company DNA. We’ll see.

Not sure I'm on board with this one. Sure, swappable batteries are cool, but that' s not something I really need, and the inherent bulk of battery enclosures isn't either. And battery swap isnt that hard, actually, the chinese guys have figured this out, they can make any kind of battery you want, and a worker at a local store can learn to perform the swap with just a few hours of training.

What I'd like instead is something about 18650's, they are everywhere but you cant buy them officially because battery manufacturers only sell them to other manufacturers to pass liability onto them, but they just wrap them in plastic and then people handle them willy-nilly. Maybe dd battery safety to school curicculum and make 18650 the new AA?