Apple argues that removable batteries add a potential failure point to phones | Hacker News Reader

Apple argues that removable batteries add a potential failure point to phones

techspot.com

10 pointsthe-mitr12 comments

yep. It's true. And removable cables, and keyboards. all kinds of things represent potential failure points.

we don't "not do it" because its a potential failure point. we factor it in.

In my experience, any device that requires a custom-form-factor battery is vulnerable to planned obsolescence. If you want to replace your phone's battery 10 years down the road, your OEM won't be making that model anymore; you'll need to find a compatible third-party battery, and of course you know that that means a cut-rate Chinese knockoff that is mislabeled and comes nowhere near the specs of your original.

You could hedge your bets by purchasing a replacement battery soon after purchasing your phone, but batteries have a limited shelf life, and so you'll either need to put that battery into partial service, or it'll just go spicy pillow long before you really need it.

I don't know about other manufacturers but Apple can replace your iPhone 5 battery for $49. That's a 11 year old phone.

https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-replacement

Worth noting that it's 80+ for newer models

I much prefer a world where you get Apple to replace your battery after 5-10 years for cheap than one where Joe Schmoe is using a $5 dollar battery from Alibaba which forces a plane emergency landing when it catches on fire.

True, it's a failure for the phone to bring in more profits for Apple if they have to put in a removable battery. I get it.

They kinda fucked themselves over honestly.

They support iphones for a loooong time and batteries are probably one of the biggest reason ot upgrade

The battery is already a guaranteed failure point.

A removable battery means:

* Worse water proof - leading to a higher chance that water breaks your phone entirely

* Thicker phone due to space constraints

* Worse battery life, because built in batteries can take on weird shapes to maximize space

We don't have the same problem 10-15 years ago with batteries. Today, phones have drastically better battery life than 10 years ago. An iPhone 13 Pro Max can easily last 2 days on one charge. Portable battery chargers are ubiquitous. USB ports are everywhere you go. Apple still provides professional battery replacements for phones as old as the iPhone 5 for a reasonable price of $49. [0]

Non-removable battery phones have won out. It's what consumers decided with their pockets. EU government should not think that they know how to design a better phone for users.

There is nothing preventing a phone maker from making a phone with removable batteries today. Nothing. Xiaomi can do it. Oppo can do it. Apple can do it. Samsung can do it. Asus can do it. People just aren't buying them in high enough numbers. Customers are choosing non-removable battery phones. Forcing everyone to make phones with removable batteries is insane.

[0]https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-replacement

>Non-removable battery phones have won out. It's what consumers decided with their pockets.

Consumers would buy toxic and deadly stuff if that's all the market will offer as the best value .

Governments are needed to keep companies in check and that's another example.

Honestly, just think about usb and the era before that.

Every consumer could chose what charger to have and every phone had his own, would you say that forcing usb on all phones was insane?

Phone numbers quickly adopted USB-C. In fact, phone makers themselves formed a group together with other tech companies and created USB-C. It had nothing to do with the government.

Heck, even Apple was slowly transitioning to USB-C and they would have eventually used USB-C for the iPhone regardless of EU laws.

>Consumers would buy toxic and deadly stuff if that's all the market will offer as the best value.

I disagree with this. Arguably, removable batteries are more dangerous.

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