EU Approves New Regulation for Smartphone Batteries - Must be User-Replaceable by 2027

[T0@st]

The European Parliament has greenlit new rules relating to battery technologies that are likely to cause headaches for smartphone manufacturers (in particular). The organization published their summary of this environmentally conscious and sustainable strategy on June 14: "Parliament approved new rules for the design (on Wednesday), production and waste management of all types of batteries (including non-replaceable types) sold in the EU. With 587 votes in favor, nine against and 20 abstentions, MEPs endorsed a deal reached with the Council to overhaul EU rules on batteries and waste batteries. The new law takes into account technological developments and future challenges in the sector and will cover the entire battery life cycle, from design to end-of-life."

The section for portable device batteries (for smartphones, tablets and cameras) outlines new consumer rights, with a demand for easily removable and replaceable (DIY) cells. Smartphone manufacturers including market leaders Apple and Samsung will have to go back to the drawing board and figure out ways to reformat how their batteries are mounted and connected internally. Plenty of devices have their units sealed behind protective layers, requiring specialist tools and varying levels of user expertise to access and remove in a safe manner. The European Council has more work to do following their starter announcement: "(We) will now have to formally endorse the text before its publication in the EU Official Journal shortly after and its entry into force." News outlets have interpreted that these provisional rulings will go into effect by early 2027, but they also anticipate that big time players could appeal for extensions beyond that window.



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[Space Lynx]

This is great news. Apple is going to be fucking pissed, lmao

 

[Chaitanya]

Hopefully this regulation add provisions to cull serialization of parts else its just another damp squib.

 

[Operandi]

Pretty amazing news. The US is always lagging behind on stuff like this but if this is actually enforceable (sounds like it is) it should help things everywhere hopefully.

 

[N3utro]

This is actually pointless. Phones are designed to have a 5 years lifespan at best (apple) and 3 years for others. After this there is no more software support = not suiteable for everyday use anymore.

Batteries in phones are also designed to last this long so you dont need to change them.

Sure you can have modified alternatives os after your phone is no longer supported but all these os lack proprietary security drivers which makes TPM and cryptographic security unusable = a lot of important functions of your phone wont work anymore, especially things related to banking apps.

If the EU wants to extend the life of mobile phones they should force manufacturers to extend the duration of the support on them in the first place.

 

[tvshacker]

I agree that this is a good idea "in general", however I believe an exception(s) could/should be made for example the phones that have IP67 (or above), in this case it's a compromise to enable a "useful" feature instead of "just because" or to make repair dificult without an added benefit.

 

[dgianstefani]

Hopefully they will also mandate that OEM replacement parts should be made available for at least five years after release of the device.

I don't care much if the battery is easily replaceable if the only available parts are third party questionable quality batteries.

They do this with cars, completely stop supporting them with original parts after a short period of time, and I couldn't find an original, new, pixel 2 battery recently either.

I agree that this is a good idea "in general", however I believe an exception(s) could/should be made for example the phones that have IP67 (or above), in this case it's a compromise to enable a "useful" feature instead of "just because" or to make repair dificult without an added benefit.

It's perfectly possible to maintain water protection while also having a replaceable battery. Maybe you need to replace a precut glue strip, but that's not hard.

 

[R-T-B]

Batteries in phones are also designed to last this long so you dont need to change them.

Yeah, I get about 2-3 years out of a Li-Ion battery on average, well short of 5. This is good.

 

[Tahagomizer]

I agree that this is a good idea "in general", however I believe an exception(s) could/should be made for example the phones that have IP67 (or above), in this case it's a compromise to enable a "useful" feature instead of "just because" or to make repair dificult without an added benefit.

My mother's Galaxy Xcover 6 pro with it's removable battery and IP68 begs to differ. Gluing the phone shut is not needed to achieve proper IP rating, it's only needed to make it cheaper to manufacture and obsolete sooner.
I hope EU follows the punch with banning any device with sealed battery. I also wonder what kind of mental gymnastics will Apple employ to continue manufacturing e-waste.

 

[chrcoluk]

This is great news. Apple is going to be fucking pissed, lmao

Same with many manufacturers, sadly the UK isnt in the EU anymore, not convinced we will follow suit. However we are a much smaller market than the EU, so not sure if they would make non replaceable batteries just for our small country either. So still good news.

As has been mentioned above the gluing the phone shut isnt needed for water resistance, I think it was only done to save a little money on manufacturing and to make it harder to keep using older phones.

This is actually pointless. Phones are designed to have a 5 years lifespan at best (apple) and 3 years for others. After this there is no more software support = not suiteable for everyday use anymore.

Batteries in phones are also designed to last this long so you dont need to change them.

Sure you can have modified alternatives os after your phone is no longer supported but all these os lack proprietary security drivers which makes TPM and cryptographic security unusable = a lot of important functions of your phone wont work anymore, especially things related to banking apps.

If the EU wants to extend the life of mobile phones they should force manufacturers to extend the duration of the support on them in the first place.

A phone doesnt stop working because the OS is no longer supported, apps (on android) can still be updated, and dialer, messaging functions will obviously still work as well.

Most of my smartphone history has actually been on unsupported versions of android as I dont support their rapid release model.

But on your idea I think the UK has actually been pushing for smart devices to have longer software support, this includes smart TVs, dont know about the EU though.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

I greatly welcome this "advance in technology" I would be ok with slightly thicker phones too.

Thing is and point I'd note, check out all the battery fires now!?.
Like vapes etc

We also need to do much much better on battery disposal and recycling.

 

[Denver]

They could use LMFP batteries(Lasts much longer) and thicker devices, I don't see anything positive in extremely thin devices.

 

[Kapone33]

You have been able to do that with Android phones for years. Only Apple make their phones unuser friendly.

 

[Zareek]

I greatly welcome this "advance in technology" I would be ok with slightly thicker phones too.

Thing is and point I'd note, check out all the battery fires now!?.
Like vapes etc

We also need to do much much better on battery disposal and recycling.

Yes, fatter phones would be fine with me as well. Phones has gotten silly thin.

I'm not sure what fires caused by bad design and construction have to do with user replaceable batteries. Didn't Samsung manage to start a few fires with some very expensive non-user replaceable batteries a few years back? Maybe it was 6 or 7 years ago now.

We need to get better with all electronic recycling, especially batteries. I shouldn't have to spend time seeking out ways to get my electronics recycled, it should be super simple, like aluminum cans. Maybe a deposit system is needed.

 

[Easo]

These tech decisions are on of the best things EU does.
Yeah, I too wonder what insanity will Apple claim now.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

Yes, fatter phones would be fine with me as well. Phones has gotten silly thin.

I'm not sure what fires caused by bad design and construction have to do with user replaceable batteries. Didn't Samsung manage to start a few fires with some very expensive non-user replaceable batteries a few years back? Maybe it was 6 or 7 years ago now.

We need to get better with all electronic recycling, especially batteries. I shouldn't have to spend time seeking out ways to get my electronics recycled, it should be super simple, like aluminum cans. Maybe a deposit system is needed.

I meant from the few desposing of lion batteries in normal waste channel type ,fire's and I agree with your end statement.

 

[chrcoluk]

They could use LMFP batteries(Lasts much longer) and thicker devices, I don't see anything positive in extremely thin devices.

My g9 play is thick phone, battery over 5000MaH, battery life similar to how nokia used to be, before i moved to smart phones.

I also find flagships too thin to hold, always buy covers for them.

One plus 8 pro flagship I brought I was trying to find best battery I could for a high end but it still couldnt match the much cheaper g9 play.

You have been able to do that with Android phones for years. Only Apple make their phones unuser friendly.

Low end android phones yes.

 

[Kapone33]

Low end android phones yes.

You got it, I never pay more than $200 for a phone. I would rather put that money into my PC.

 

[destruya]

So the phone makers are going to collude and turn Europe fully fascist by 2026 so they don't have to comply with this. Got it.

 

[sLowEnd]

Thanks, EU

 

[tvshacker]

My mother's Galaxy Xcover 6 pro with it's removable battery and IP68 begs to differ. Gluing the phone shut is not needed to achieve proper IP rating, it's only needed to make it cheaper to manufacture and obsolete sooner.
I hope EU follows the punch with banning any device with sealed battery. I also wonder what kind of mental gymnastics will Apple employ to continue manufacturing e-waste.

I usually follow GSMArena and they even "published" an article praising this phone's repairability, I must've forgotten since. Thanks for sharing/reminding me.

 

[DarkChib]

About time, sick of the e-waste around batteries. Just need to get more changes to reduce e-waste further!

 

[Wirko]

I'm sure that every member of European Parliament has a notebook computer in front of his or her nose. One with a large non-replaceable battery inside. How come they never thought of that?

(After checking some pics of EP sessions: notebooks are a rare sight there but still, those people must have heard about batteries inside.)

 

[dgianstefani]

I'm sure that every member of European Parliament has a notebook computer in front of his or her nose. One with a large non-replaceable battery inside. How come they never thought of that?

(After checking some pics of EP sessions: notebooks are a rare sight there but still, those people must have heard about batteries inside.)

Notebook batteries are generally replaceable, they may require partial disassembly, but most of the time they're just slotted or screwed in as a separate unit.

Here's an example of a modern Thinkpad. Three screws for the battery unit.

 

[Nostras]

This is actually pointless. Phones are designed to have a 5 years lifespan at best (apple) and 3 years for others. After this there is no more software support = not suiteable for everyday use anymore.

Batteries in phones are also designed to last this long so you dont need to change them.

Sure you can have modified alternatives os after your phone is no longer supported but all these os lack proprietary security drivers which makes TPM and cryptographic security unusable = a lot of important functions of your phone wont work anymore, especially things related to banking apps.

If the EU wants to extend the life of mobile phones they should force manufacturers to extend the duration of the support on them in the first place.

I strongly disagree with this statement.
Phone manufacturers don't need / have to provide support for so long because the devices start to become unusable until the battery is replaced.
Iphones are a bit of a odd case out, because they retain their value so well it makes a lot more sense to pay the (high) fee to replace the battery than for, e.g., a Samsung device.
TL;DR Chicken egg

And aside from that, custom ROMS still exist and it's not as if a phone is (effectively) unusable if the battery is dead.
A not so small amount don't give a rats ass about upgrades, but if their more technically inclined family member can replace a battery that's one phone that'll last longer.
Unless they drop it. Sigh.