EU might not force Apple to make iPhones with user-replaceable batteries
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Samsung Xcover6 Pro for example is a water proof phone with a user-replaceable battery
> The second exemption is even more interesting. This is the good news I was referring to earlier. Smartphone vendors like Apple can continue using built-in batteries as long as they offer high-quality batteries. The battery should still have 83% health after 500 cycles. Or 80% health after 1,000 cycles.
The .pdf of the Law is here:
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023...
https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/PE-2-2023-INIT...
In the preamble:
>(39) To ensure the safety of end-users, this Regulation should provide for a limited derogation for portable batteries from the removability and replaceability requirements set for portable batteries concerning appliances that incorporate portable batteries and that are specifically designed to be used, for the majority of the active service of the appliance, in an environment that is regularly subject to splashing water, water streams or water immersion and that are intended to be washable or rinseable. This derogation should only apply when it is not possible, by way of redesign of the appliance, to ensure the safety of the end-user and the safe continued use of the appliance after the end-user has correctly followed the instructions to remove and replace the battery. Where the derogation applies, the product should be designed in such a way as to make the battery removable and replaceable only by independent professionals, and not by end-users.
Then it is in Article 11, 2nd paragraph:
>2 By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the following products incorporating portable batteries may be designed in such a way as to make the battery removable and replaceable only by independent professionals: (a) appliances specifically designed to operate primarily in an environment that is regularly subject to splashing water, water streams or water immersion, and that are intended to be washable or rinseable;
The "operate primarily" as I understand it, may apply only to the new "iPhone Baywatch Edition" ;).
I cannot find anything about the cited second "exemption" about number of cycles.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/24/23771064/european-union-b...
The other article you just provided clears the matter, the one referenced in the thread seemed to attribute the "exemption" to the "battery regulation" one.
But the "battery regulation" is already approved, while the "Ecodesign" is still only a draft (from what I can understand).
It will be interesting to see how the EU will solve the "overlapping", it seems to me improbable that they will make in September (after the hypothetical approval of the "ecodesign" draft) an amendment to something approved only a few months before.
Par for the course with the EU especially when it comes to laws dealing with the environments. See for exemple the regulations linked to the green taxonomy where half of the material is still missing despite the law coming into force and where information about how the law should actually be applied are published months late. The EU is kind of a joke sometimes.
Worrying about your phone when you go to the beach and similar activities is super annoying.
But outside my own forgetfulness, many people work outside in climates where heavy rain or snow is common.
Given that we normally carry these devices with us 24/7, it makes sense to build them to survive real-world 24/7 conditions.
1) Require fewer parts, so less expensive to make and more environment friendly
2) Last longer, so replacements come less often, thus more environment friendly
3) Higher recyclable battery rate, since Apple has incentive to recycle the used batteries, consumers less so.
The only benefit battery replaceable phone has is consumers having more control over their purchase and less likely to be screwed over by phone makers or sellers.
User replacable batteries are also user accessible controls to definitely power off the device. Usually devices without a replacable battery often have a secret handshake to power off, but it doesn't always work.
Back in the day they had special ruggedized phones for that use case (they still do) but it's nice just having a regular mass market phone with a good camera and not have to worry about it getting wet.
Also swimming pools, rivers, rain, snow… you can go lots of places where a phone would most likely or definitely get soaked or submerged, and it’s useful to have a phone with you for payment, maps, messages, everything you normally use it for. Water is the only thing that has killed/broken phones for me in years.
My point is that the rating can be gamed, and relying on users to do something right is going to turn out badly for the users while the company points at small print.
[1] https://phandroid.com/2014/04/19/galaxy-s5-water-damage/amp/
And the iPhone 14 has had many years of improvements since the S5.
I'm meticulous about maintaining battery health by using a Chargie device to limit charges to 80%, and a peltier cooled phone holder in the car that keeps it from overheating. Coupled with just not using the phone that much I'm pretty sure I can get 5-10 years of usable life out of the battery, and will probably replace the phone before that anyways.