Will we ever have battery access?

EW800 · Dec 28, 2012, 10:28 PM

I made the switch from BB when the iPhone 5 came out and am so glad that I made the switch, however one thing I really miss is being able to swap out batteries, if necessary. Anyone think Apple will ever give this to us? I would think they would love the opportunity to sell extra batteries to us!

darster · Dec 28, 2012, 10:29 PM

I hope not.

EW800 · Dec 28, 2012, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darster

I hope not.

Just curious, why do you hope not?

darster · Dec 28, 2012, 10:42 PM

Battery technology is improving and manufacturers are moving away from the replaceable battery. Battery covers just make phones look cheap.

dontwalkhand · Dec 28, 2012, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darster

Battery technology is improving and manufacturers are moving away from the replaceable battery. Battery covers just make phones look cheap.

Exactly. I have never seen a battery cover actually made from quality materials

walie · Dec 29, 2012, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darster

Battery technology is improving and manufacturers are moving away from the replaceable battery. Battery covers just make phones look cheap.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlphaDogg

Adds bulk.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dontwalkhand

Exactly. I have never seen a battery cover actually made from quality materials

You all know the 4/4S back panel was pretty much a battery cover secured by screws right?

aPple nErd · Dec 29, 2012, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dontwalkhand

Exactly. I have never seen a battery cover actually made from quality materials

I have! The magic mouse battery cover...

numberforty1 · Dec 28, 2012, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darster

Battery technology is improving and manufacturers are moving away from the replaceable battery. Battery covers just make phones look cheap.

100% agree with this

AlphaDogg · Dec 28, 2012, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EW800

Just curious, why do you hope not?

Adds bulk.

Mrbobb · Dec 28, 2012, 10:48 PM

According to history, NEVER.

ChristianJapan · Dec 28, 2012, 10:56 PM

No more access to battery; always fragile compartments with tiny contacts wasting space. I prefer the monolithic device designs we see today.

Also come over to here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1515942 another battery/innovation thread

E2EK1EL · Dec 28, 2012, 11:48 PM

I hope this video explains some questions about Apple's battery designs and technology.

http://youtu.be/w6lLdFxiZPc

Just like everyone else, when I first read the specs about the IP5's hardware along with the 1440mAh battery, nothing makes sense at all until some 3rd party iPhone parts dealer puts the IP5's logic board under a microscope and confirms all the chipsets nm specs.

If you compare the CPUs, GPUs, the size of the phone, size of the screen, the multi region LTE bands, the battery life and look at the benchmark results, no other manufacture comes close. After all that, look at how smooth iOS runs and how efficient battery life can be with heavy usage in a "strong signal area"

Imagine if Apple made a massive 5.5" phone, Quad Core CPU & GPU, 2GB RAM and accompanied with a 3000mAh battery? It would be 2-3x faster then the Note 2, last 2-3x longer and perform 2-3x faster. Android needs all that horse power just to stay a live with all their manufacture skins, blotware and sketchy OS builds.

My iPhone 3G still runs very strong on the original battery, it's all about how condition the battery and your signal strengths plays a major role on battery life. Apple should stay away from dev a new form of battery material, if they did that they would blow all their money in R&D like Nokia and end up like Nokia, making prototype phones that will never see the light of day.

JS82712 · Dec 28, 2012, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EW800

I made the switch from BB when the iPhone 5 came out and am so glad that I made the switch, however one thing I really miss is being able to swap out batteries, if necessary. Anyone think Apple will ever give this to us? I would think they would love the opportunity to sell extra batteries to us!

No.

corvus32 · Dec 29, 2012, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EW800

Anyone think Apple will ever give this to us? I would think they would love the opportunity to sell extra batteries to us!

Landfills are already full of ancient battery technology.

rw3 · Dec 29, 2012, 07:37 AM

No.

BarryL · Dec 29, 2012, 08:17 AM

Doubt it.

harcosparky · Dec 29, 2012, 08:26 AM

In all my years with iPod/iPad/iPhone I can say that personally I have never had a battery issue.

My niece had an issue with a very old iPod and Apple made it right for her.

sulpfiction · Dec 29, 2012, 08:42 AM

Get a mophie battery case to fill ur void. They work well, but just look ugly and bulky.

MistahMumford · Dec 29, 2012, 09:35 AM

I see no reason to allow battery access as I don't see a need for it. iOS does a great job of power mgmt.

meistervu · Dec 29, 2012, 09:59 AM

Take a look at the back of the iPhone 5. Now assuming that removable battery is a desirable feature, how would you add one without making it thicker and introduce gaps, creak, etc. It is a huge challenge with questionable benefit.

I used to have Palm phones with removable battery. The only time I ever removed the battery was to access the reset button. I did later on found a use for it: turn out there was enough of a gap between the battery and its cover to keep a folded $20 bill for emergency. The added bill also help keeps the battery cover from creaking.

I don't miss removable batteries and the compromises they entail.

tann · Dec 29, 2012, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meistervu

Take a look at the back of the iPhone 5. Now assuming that removable battery is a desirable feature, how would you add one without making it thicker and introduce gaps, creak, etc. It is a huge challenge with questionable benefit.

I used to have Palm phones with removable battery. The only time I ever removed the battery was to access the reset button. I did later on found a use for it: turn out there was enough of a gap between the battery and its cover to keep a folded $20 bill for emergency. The added bill also help keeps the battery cover from creaking.

I don't miss removable batteries and the compromises they entail.

Haha and I thought I was the only person who hid money under the battery cover!!!

But the industry is moving away from user replaceable batteries. It just allows them to build sleeker, smaller and lighter products.

vistadude · Dec 29, 2012, 03:37 PM

the iphone 4 does have a big battery cover called the glass back. It's just that the battery has a proprietary and fragile connection port. The droid razr maxx has a 1 mm thicker battery, yet more than double any other smartphone in battery life.

The only reason the battery is not removable is greed and profits, because they know your phone would last for many many years if the battery life were good.

darster · Dec 29, 2012, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vistadude

the iphone 4 does have a big battery cover called the glass back. It's just that the battery has a proprietary and fragile connection port. The droid razr maxx has a 1 mm thicker battery, yet more than double any other smartphone in battery life.

The only reason the battery is not removable is greed and profits, because they know your phone would last for many many years if the battery life were good.

That may be true, but the majority of people upgrade every 20 months, whether the phone has a replaceable battery or not. The only real greed going on is the battery manufacturers. Their profit will drop.

vastoholic · Dec 29, 2012, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vistadude

the iphone 4 does have a big battery cover called the glass back. It's just that the battery has a proprietary and fragile connection port. The droid razr maxx has a 1 mm thicker battery, yet more than double any other smartphone in battery life.

The only reason the battery is not removable is greed and profits, because they know your phone would last for many many years if the battery life were good.

The Razr Maxx has a 3000 mAh battery compared to the 1400 mAh in the iPhone. Your last argument has nothing to do with each other. If they gave us a better battery, there would be no need for user replaceable batteries at all. If they made it replaceable, they could make the battery crappier or the same so you would be inclined to buy more batteries. It's not about greed. It's also largely to do with EPA regulations.

Mrbobb · Dec 29, 2012, 06:18 PM

Just saw a case/bumper with built-in battery for the 4, like when you run out, just hit the switch and BAM, secondary power! Sure it makes the phone looks fat but if you are on a job site, desert of Iraq etc it's very handy indeed.

Dec 28, 2012, 10:28 PM	#1
EW800 macrumors member Join Date: Jul 2012	Will we ever have battery access? I made the switch from BB when the iPhone 5 came out and am so glad that I made the switch, however one thing I really miss is being able to swap out batteries, if necessary. Anyone think Apple will ever give this to us? I would think they would love the opportunity to sell extra batteries to us!
	0

Dec 28, 2012, 10:56 PM	#11
ChristianJapan macrumors 68030 Join Date: May 2010 Location: 東京	No more access to battery; always fragile compartments with tiny contacts wasting space. I prefer the monolithic device designs we see today. Also come over to here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1515942 another battery/innovation thread __________________ I support the MacRumors Blood Drive!
	1

Dec 29, 2012, 07:37 AM	#15
rw3 macrumors 6502a Join Date: May 2008 Location: DFW, TX	No. __________________ 2012 iMac 27"\|i7 3.4GHz\|32GB\|768GB • MacBook Pro Retina\|i7 2.7GHz\|16GB\|768GB • White iPhone 5 \|64GB • ATV3 x3 ACMT, ACSP
	1

Dec 29, 2012, 08:26 AM	#17
harcosparky macrumors 68020 Join Date: Jan 2008	In all my years with iPod/iPad/iPhone I can say that personally I have never had a battery issue. My niece had an issue with a very old iPod and Apple made it right for her. __________________ Awwwwwww!
	2

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Switch to Linear Mode Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Dec 28, 2012, 10:29 PM	#2
darster macrumors 65816 Join Date: Aug 2011	I hope not.
	3

Dec 28, 2012, 10:42 PM	#4
darster macrumors 65816 Join Date: Aug 2011	Battery technology is improving and manufacturers are moving away from the replaceable battery. Battery covers just make phones look cheap.
	9

Dec 28, 2012, 10:48 PM	#10
Mrbobb macrumors 68020 Join Date: Aug 2012	According to history, NEVER.
	1

Dec 28, 2012, 11:48 PM	#12
E2EK1EL macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2012	I hope this video explains some questions about Apple's battery designs and technology. http://youtu.be/w6lLdFxiZPc Just like everyone else, when I first read the specs about the IP5's hardware along with the 1440mAh battery, nothing makes sense at all until some 3rd party iPhone parts dealer puts the IP5's logic board under a microscope and confirms all the chipsets nm specs. If you compare the CPUs, GPUs, the size of the phone, size of the screen, the multi region LTE bands, the battery life and look at the benchmark results, no other manufacture comes close. After all that, look at how smooth iOS runs and how efficient battery life can be with heavy usage in a "strong signal area" Imagine if Apple made a massive 5.5" phone, Quad Core CPU & GPU, 2GB RAM and accompanied with a 3000mAh battery? It would be 2-3x faster then the Note 2, last 2-3x longer and perform 2-3x faster. Android needs all that horse power just to stay a live with all their manufacture skins, blotware and sketchy OS builds. My iPhone 3G still runs very strong on the original battery, it's all about how condition the battery and your signal strengths plays a major role on battery life. Apple should stay away from dev a new form of battery material, if they did that they would blow all their money in R&D like Nokia and end up like Nokia, making prototype phones that will never see the light of day.
	1

Dec 29, 2012, 08:17 AM	#16
BarryL macrumors regular Join Date: Dec 2012	Doubt it.
	1

Dec 29, 2012, 08:42 AM	#18
sulpfiction macrumors 68000 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Philadelphia Area	Get a mophie battery case to fill ur void. They work well, but just look ugly and bulky.
	1

Dec 29, 2012, 09:35 AM	#19
MistahMumford macrumors regular Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: SC	I see no reason to allow battery access as I don't see a need for it. iOS does a great job of power mgmt.
	1

Dec 29, 2012, 09:59 AM	#20
meistervu macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jul 2008	Take a look at the back of the iPhone 5. Now assuming that removable battery is a desirable feature, how would you add one without making it thicker and introduce gaps, creak, etc. It is a huge challenge with questionable benefit. I used to have Palm phones with removable battery. The only time I ever removed the battery was to access the reset button. I did later on found a use for it: turn out there was enough of a gap between the battery and its cover to keep a folded $20 bill for emergency. The added bill also help keeps the battery cover from creaking. I don't miss removable batteries and the compromises they entail.
	2

Dec 29, 2012, 03:37 PM	#22
vistadude macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jan 2010	the iphone 4 does have a big battery cover called the glass back. It's just that the battery has a proprietary and fragile connection port. The droid razr maxx has a 1 mm thicker battery, yet more than double any other smartphone in battery life. The only reason the battery is not removable is greed and profits, because they know your phone would last for many many years if the battery life were good.
	1

Dec 29, 2012, 06:18 PM	#25
Mrbobb macrumors 68020 Join Date: Aug 2012	Just saw a case/bumper with built-in battery for the 4, like when you run out, just hit the switch and BAM, secondary power! Sure it makes the phone looks fat but if you are on a job site, desert of Iraq etc it's very handy indeed.
	2