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

[realtuner]

Fantastic. This would be a great help with making sure that phones are able to be used longer, and in turn reducing e-waste.

Android is responsible for the vast majority of cell phone/tablet e-waste with close to a billion disposable devices sold each year that are tossed away when they break or no longer work well due to never getting software updates (since they're so damn cheap people just buy new ones instead).

Removeable batteries won't reduce e-waste. I've never heard of anyone throwing away an iPhone because it was too expensive or difficult to replace the battery.

 

[deeddawg]

And the power bank battery is also not replaceable... so, adding to the waste.

Quite the opposite actually.

One powerbank will span multiple phone generations -- so you're not buying new phone batteries and disposing of the old ones every time you upgrade

Plus, a powerbank serves as a spare battery for multiple different devices - bluetooth headphones, watch, etc. Again less waste.

 

[ipedro]

The EU is going to end up with iPhones that are:
- fat, ugly
- no water resistance
- no ports

No, Apple isn't going to design an iPhone just for the EU. They'll just find workarounds like an external battery case included in the box and if pressed further, they won't ship a battery inside iPhones sold in the EU and users will just have to always use their iPhones with the battery case.

 

[grad]

How is this a bad thing?

It isn't. Unless you are paid from Apple to troll in public forums and make excuses for everything it does. Or maybe you just love CIA.

 

[Peza19]

Extortionate amount of money for battery replacements? My last replacement was $29. Oooh...ouch. Real bank-breaker, there.

That’s great to see! Unfortunately for the rest of us that do not live in the US, Apple charge a high amount to replace your battery. But I don’t suppose you considered other users outside the US?

 

[kingax1]

why shouldn't they also guarantee a minimum level of user-upgradability?

People already are guaranteed that right. They have the right to upgrade their phone or buy a phone that already has a minimum level of user-upgradablity. If the market demanded user minimum upgradibility, companies will conform to meet or surpass the standards of their competition if they wish to have or need that part of the market.

I just buy a new Apple phone every 2-3 years, I dont understand what the complaints are about. If people really need a battery its only $69 out of warranty or you can buy AppleCare+ and its included.

 

[minimo3]

If EU wants to mandate a standard USB-C port then they should also mandate that all phones use the same replaceable battery pack. After all isn’t it about avoiding waste?

 

[kironin]

YES! Two best upgrades imaginable! USB-C and a removable battery!
That's an iPhone upgrade worth having!
Make it so!!! 🙌🤞

 

[Professor Rucy]

So far out of context it’s not even Apple to orange.

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

 

[webbuzz]

Hard pass.

 

[Manzanito]

If forced to comply with this, Apple will just ship iPhones in the EU with a battery case pre-installed on the phone in the box. There'll be an internal battery and the external battery with the case. Want a fresh battery? Just swap out the case. Done, Apple is in compliance.

If challenged on this workaround, Apple can simply shut off the internal battery in iOS for iPhones sold in the EU, depending on the external battery as the primary battery, which is user replaceable, making it compliant with the law. Challenged still? Don't ship iPhones in the EU with an internal battery, just the external battery case.

Of course, this would make iPhones more expensive in the EU and no doubt, an import market would emerge, hurting the EU economy.

View attachment 896436

I don’t think they’ll sell a lot of iPhones in Europe if apple chooses your last two “solutions”.

 

[Remy149]

This is not forcing anything on consumers, this is enabling consumers to do something they would like to do...

I don’t want a fatter phone with a removable plastic back

 

[deeddawg]

That’s great to see! Unfortunately for the rest of us that do not live in the US, Apple charge a high amount to replace your battery. But I don’t suppose you considered other users outside the US?

Current US pricing is $49 for iphone8 and earlier, $69 for iphone X and later.

Current Ireland and Spanish pricing is € 55 for iphone8 and earlier, € 75 for iphoneX and later.

Seems about on par given then usual $/€ price "parity"

iPhone Battery Replacement - Apple Support (IE)

Need more power? An Apple Store or Authorised Service Provider near you can replace your iPhone battery. See the associated cost by coverage type.

support.apple.com

Reemplazo de la batería del iPhone - Soporte técnico de Apple (ES)

¿Necesitas que la batería dure más? Puedes acudir a un Apple Store o un Proveedor de servicios autorizado cercano para reemplazar la batería del iPhone. Consulta el coste asociado por tipo de cobertura.

support.apple.com

 

[falainber]

No, Apple isn't going to design an iPhone just for the EU. They'll just find workarounds like an external battery case included in the box and if pressed further, they won't ship a battery inside iPhones sold in the EU and users will just have to always use their iPhones with the battery case.

That would be a recipe for abandoning EU market. EU prefers Android by a big margin already. Push them a little and everyone over there will simply switch to Android.

 

[ceriess]

Oh well. Apple will have to pull the plug and stop selling phones in the EU. That should also extend to tourists who come to the States to buy them. Then let the citizens of the EU feel satisfied that justice has prevailed.

 

[falainber]

I don’t want a fatter phone with a removable plastic back

You might also prefer a car with a dirty diesel engine. Should EU accommodate you?

 

[Romeo_Nightfall]

apple itself with the iPhone 4 has proven such a design possible.
Water resistance is easy possible
Wireless charging is new but should be possible too.

phone wouldn’t get bigger as the 11 pro is already a fat brick!

 

[Jim Lahey]

Of course its better to toss a phone glued to a battery

And what’s more likely. People throwing entire phones in the trash because the battery is dead, or people throwing batteries in the trash because they just bought a new one on Amazon? Critical thought quickly reveals the answer. Countless millions of batteries will be replaced on a whim and the old ones discarded in landfill.

 

[Steve63]

I’m a little confused by this. iPhone batteries are already physically replaceable by users. Perhaps they are referring to “legal” replaceability (e.g. the ability to replace a battery without voiding the warranty, etc.).

Replacing batteries is not easy and almost impossible for some users. I did it with the iPhone 6 and it was not that difficult. But for some people (especially elderly people), the little screws and cables cannot be handled. But on the other hand, i would also not like to go back to the times when a phone was heavy and clunky...
I would prefer to have a fairly priced battery exchange program by Apple, where everybody (including "non certified" shops) can easily replace batteries.
So for your iPhone: If you able and you can live with loosing water resistance, you replace the battery yourself, if not, bring your device to Apple.

 

[Timothy Leo Crowley]

I am all for user replaceable batteries - I had a Note 4 and it was a great feature. I am NOT in favor of governments deciding what products private businesses create.

 

[m4mario]

Please don't mess with iPhones. Just let it be the way it is.

 

[RecentlyConverted]

Excellent idea. Billions of consumers tossing all their used phone batteries into landfill.

Thats a bit like saying all smartphone users are brain dead morons. Plenty of shops and other buildings near me ( and around the world ), have battery recycling bins, and people here use them. Obviously not all, but then some people just dont care.

 

[44267547]

I don’t want a fatter phone with a removable plastic back

What? Why? You mean you don’t want a circa 2013 ‘Android like phone’ with a junk plastic back with a lesser degree of water resistance/IP rating?

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to happen. There’s a lot of denial in this forum, but that’s to be expected.

 

[Stella]

That would be a recipe for abandoning EU market. EU prefers Android by a big margin already. Push them a little and everyone over there will simply switch to Android.

ROTFL. Apple will not abandon a market of around 450 million consumers. Apple will redesign the iPhone accordingly.

EDIT: that's more consumers than the U.S

 

[TheColtr]

How is this a bad thing?

No water resistance, no qi charging, smaller batteries, and probably plastic backs.