Comment by nordsieck | Hacker News Reader

Comment by nordsieck | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

> The European Council only has jurisdiction over Europe, obviously. So this law will not, technically, have an effect in any other area of the world.

> However, that doesn’t really mean much in the grand scheme of things. Companies like Samsung, Google, Apple, etc., don’t design devices specific to Europe. Apple, for example, is not going to create a European iPhone with a replaceable battery and one for the United States without. In other words, this law will change all iPhones. It will also change all tablets, laptops, EVs, e-bikes, and anything else with a rechargeable battery.

IMO, this is not necessarily true.

Apple gave in over USB-C/lightning in large part because it's the right thing to do[1], but IMO, many consumers strongly prefer a thin phone over a replaceable battery.

I suspect that Apple will at least strongly consider making a European version of the iPhone and a version that is thinner and/or has better battery capacity.

I'd be happy if Apple does move their entire line to replaceable batteries - I'd prefer to be able to do a battery swap myself. But I don't think most consumers share my preferences.

---

1. I don't mean this in any sort of moral sense. Just in a technological one. Lightning is firewire reborn. It may have been compelling at one time, but the world has passed it up. And much like firewire, Apple would have eventually dropped it; which means that being forced to give it up a bit earlier than they'd like it's a particularly big blow.

> many consumers strongly prefer a thin phone

Is this really the case? Is there any kind of research on that? Anecdotally: I have never seen anyone having an iPhone without a cover case. The case makes the phone _bulky_ yet no one complains.

Before the iPhone 6 and its rounded displays, I never used a case on my iPhone (including models 3g, 4s, and 5). I occasionally dropped it, but never had more than minor scratches or minor dents on the metal edging.

Then I got an iPhone 6, and at some point dropped it & cracked the screen. Replaced the screen, and eventually cracked it again. Got an iPhone 8 and eventually cracked the screen. When I wanted to buy an iPhone X, my wife said, "Only if you get a case", and I didn't really have a good counter-argument.

Which makes it kind of an irony: if you push too far in some direction, you end up going way back. Jony Ive pushed for the iPhone 6 form factor: thinner, rounder. Which made it prettier without a case; but by sacrificing too much sturdiness, it meant everyone needed to have a case -- so the iPhone form factor became "a very pretty, fragile phone in a bulky case" rather than "a nice-looking moderately robust phone without a case".

I'd also like to see research on it, but ultimately, pretty much every large company went in that direction for a reason. The phone market is pretty competitive, if users preferred a replaceable battery to a thinner phone we'd see some company stealing market share by offering exactly that.

A thin phone with a phone cover is thinner than a bulky phone with a phone cover. Maybe the fact you're going to be putting a cover on it is why you want it to be thin in the first place.

I don't see how using cases is an argument against people wanting thin phones. A thin phone plus a case is thinner than a thick phone plus a case. More practically, a case is a necessary evil if you're worried about accidentally damaging your expensive device.

Put me in the camp of wanting thinner phones. I don't use a case. My 14 Pro is thicker than I like. I miss the thinness of the 6s. I end every day at 40% battery life; the extra capacity is wasted on me, since it's not good enough to last two days. My last phone was 5 years old, still had 81% capacity when I replaced it, and always lasted the full day.

Am I everyone? Obviously not, but I expect market research has led Apple and others to the conclusion people do want thin phones, else they would make thicker phones.

I guarantee there will be people upset that their phones are thicker for reasons that don't benefit them.

There might be a difference in battery capacities, but if you can swap out batteries, I’m going to guess there is going to be an aftermarket battery that will be much better than what Apple ships the phone with.

Maybe those batteries will be bulkier or something but I don’t think people care about better battery that much with current performance.

If they like thin phones why do they put ugly thick cases around them to protect them?

To… protect them?

A thick phone with a cover is even bulkier, you know.

Alternatively thicker phones can be designed to be more robust and not need cases you know. Slim phones break easily because they have no affordance for robustness

That would be nice, but part of the benefit of cases is they're easily replaceable. I seem to drop my phone a lot; I've gone through two cases on my current phone already. The phone itself is totally unharmed.

you must have some very poor quality cases, I've never had to replace a case except for the flea market $2 TPU junk.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com