Leaked Documents Suggest Apple Could Be Forced to Build iPhones With User-Removable Batteries in Europe

[ilikewhey]

Then make a comparison with the same fruit. I was spot on.

"I don’t like your clothes. Or how you decorate your house. Or what car you drive, or what gas you put in it, or how you control the money you earn from work. I work for a giant beauracracy and just signed an order that commands you immediately to buy new outfits, go to Ikea, trade in your car for a rickshaw and feel good about the environmental impact all of this will have. Don’t worry—doing it to everyone else, too, until you do what I believe “is right.”

the leaked documents "i don't like how phone companies like apple make consumable parts of the phone, like the battery, non user replaceable. these who don't know better thinks their phone is too slow or too old once the battery stop offering peak performance. i will therefore propose a bill that will make companies like apple and samsung to stop making the general public having the assumption that once their battery has stop offering peak performance, they need to ditch the old phone and get a new one when all they need is a $20-30 new battery"
[automerge]1582839170[/automerge]

Do people really throw a one or two year old iphone into the ewaste pile because it needs a new $50 battery? There are plenty of places to get a battery replaced, if people don’t want Apple to do it.

its more like 75 bucks and a trip to the apple store for couple hours. believe it or not there are folks who rather buy a new phone than wait at the apple store for couple hours to have their battery replaced.

 

[mag33]

Enjoy less durability then.

lol

99% of people on this forum have zero insight. Just dumb, pointless comments all around.

 

[Defthand]

Rolling my eyes at the faux concern over added thickness. Especially since A)the same commentators probably didn't consider the original iPhones unacceptably thick; and B)damn well put a thickness-adding case on their phones.

 

[1345873]

So you argue for this government intrusion by stating that another government intrusion is silly?
How about they just stay the hell out of these things and stick to the VERY FEW things they are good at.

Which you would happen to know? Enlighten us o wiseman!

 

[ani4ani]

And this is a perfect example of why the UK decided to leave the undemocratic EU.

No it isn’t. In or out of the EU makes zero difference to the rules. You want to act or sell, build or manufacture in the EU, you follow EU rules...just as you follow US rules. it’s the biggest BS spouted by the leave campaign. The only difference for the UK not being in the EU with the rules is they no longer have the ability to shape or influence the rules...but follow them they must.

 

[JosephAW]

Lets hope in Europe, Apple will be forced to place floppy disk into iphones and ipads

Hey my Sony Mavica digital camera has a floppy disk drive.

 

[1345873]

apple must only hire third grade engineers if Samsung can build phones that are thin, waterproof and have waterproof headphone jacks and usb ports

Apple isn’t about engineering or innovation, but marketing proprietary stuff and hoping to sell licenses.
Noticed HomeKit, the real innovation is happening outside the Applechokehold. Apple was losing this fight, so now they are joining the real innovators.

 

[robertcoogan]

Good. Apple likes to tout itself as eco-friendly, but without replaceable batteries, a universal cable standard, and the AirPods glue bomb, it's only half-hearted.

 

[JosephAW]

Apple needs to release an iPhone without any battery and then the user chooses a small, medium or large smart battery case as needed with a usb-c power port.

 

[I7guy]

apple must only hire third grade engineers if Samsung can build phones that are thin, waterproof and have waterproof headphone jacks and usb ports

Which phones are those and that have removable batteries and a fully featured Face ID?

 

[DownUnderDan]

And this is a perfect example of why the UK decided to leave the undemocratic EU.

The right to make and throw away unnecessary e-waste? Yeah ok.
[automerge]1582840450[/automerge]

Every phone's battery is user removable, provided the user is skilled enough and have the proper tools. I haven't found a cell phone whose battery I couldn't remove. The hardest part is opening the case, with some being held with exotic screws and adhesives.

Yeap. Well for the rest of us, sliding open or lifting a door on the back of the phone and popping in a battery, might not have the MacGyver factor, but does let us get on with life.

 

[TeamMojo]

Damn, so glad I don't live in Europe.

 

[1345873]

Until people start complaining about damaged USB-C ports. I think the USB-c port MIGHT be a bit more fragile as the contacts are on a finger in the middle. With some many people carrying their phones in their pockets, they get an accumulation of lint collected in them. as people try to pick it out with something sharp, connector damage is a possibility.....just a thought.

The same usb-c ports which are in my macbook are not suitable for another applethingie?

 

[the_marcinm]

I sometimes wonder how impossibly bored you have to be in order to come up with such ideas. First, punch an USB-C-shaped hole into a soon-to-become a fully-sealed and waterproof phone, now let the user bust it open...

 

[techwhiz]

Samsung, Oneplus, Apple and every other slim device manufacturer is going to scream "bloody murder".

 

[holysmokes]

What a bunch of weenies.

 

[Speedy2]

It’s simple - two things can’t occupy the same space at the same time. If there has to be a mechanism to allow access to the battery, it absolutely will make the phone thicker than it otherwise would be. The only alternative is to reduce battery capacity.

It will also make it more fragile than it would otherwise be.

It will also interfere with the ability to Qi charge, because wherever that “door” is, there can’t be a qi coil there.

This is simple engineering.

So how exactly was Samsung able to pull it off then? (A fact that you quietly ignored)

It's really _absolutely_ not as simple as you claim it to be.

 

[raghu8912]

How is this a bad thing?

Government controlling anything is bad thing.
[automerge]1582843380[/automerge]

I think this is a little over the top. The non-proprietary USB-C is a good thing, but enabling consumers to mess with highly volatile batteries is another thing. An affordable battery replacement program is a better idea.

Even Non proprietary USB is not a good thing, because EU technically created USB as monopoly, there is no chance any phone manufacturer is going away from USB C because its almost impossible for all manufacturers shift all at once.

 

[stylinexpat]

I would love to see this happen. This would be great.

 

[QuarterSwede]

I'm all for user serviceability but I'm not okay with it if that means sacrificing waterproofing.

 

[The_Martini_Cat]

I always thought inaccessible phone batteries were motivated by infant safety. Like watch batteries, if you swallow one of those things, even if they remove it quickly it can still kill you. So, here's the equation tradeoff: Save 1 life. traded off against ???

 

[Jim Lahey]

Rolling my eyes at the faux concern over added thickness. Especially since A)the same commentators probably didn't consider the original iPhones unacceptably thick; and B)damn well put a thickness-adding case on their phones.

Alternatively, A) It's not 2007 anymore and some people do in fact want thin phones, and B) some people do in fact not use cases and never have. But I suppose any constructive criticism or concern over something that doesn't bother you personally must be "faux" 😆

 

[Nuvi]

Consumers should then buy those products that suit them better, rather than forcing change.

In Europe the change is forced if companies are delivering products which are not optimal from consumer standpoint. This is the European way and its great for consumers.

 

[deeddawg]

its more like 75 bucks and a trip to the apple store for couple hours. believe it or not there are folks who rather buy a new phone than wait at the apple store for couple hours to have their battery replaced.

$49 for iPhone 8 and earlier. $69 for iphoneX and newer. Per Apples website.

as for the people you describe, I guess you can’t fix stupid.

 

[raghu8912]

Good. Apple likes to tout itself as eco-friendly, but without replaceable batteries, a universal cable standard, and the AirPods glue bomb, it's only half-hearted.

EU has already created a monopoly by standardizing a charging port, its almost impossible to go away from USB C now.
replaceable battery means good bye water resistance.
Government shouldn't be controlling technology, government is slow to respond to changes.