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Why does everyone hate how iPhone doesn't have a user-replaceable battery?

C

cheeseblock

macrumors member
Original poster
May 23, 2010
86
0
SLC, UT
I have been seeing and hearing tons of complaints (especially while comparing iPhone to other phones) about how you can't pop the battery out of the iPhone, and how you can't replace it yourself, and so on.

I am curious as to why this is such a problem...

Here's why I think it's no big deal at all...

-The battery is something that has to be replaced once or twice every few years, so why do you need that constant access all year long?

-On my phone (and many other phones I'm sure) this is an annoying feature, and I accidentally pop it out all the time (and therefore it shuts off)

-Without it, the iPhone looks better (no ugly back to it), looks less cheap, and less like other phones

-Without the battery compartment and release mechanisms etc. the iPhone has more space inside for stuff (like a bigger battery) and has one less thing that can break

There's probably very few people who agree with me (besides Apple's engineers), and I'm just curious as to why it's such a big issue, and why it is always used as a point when attacking iPhone (or when complaining about your iPhone)

Let me know your thoughts on the subject.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS (OS4.0b3): Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A274b Safari/6531.22.7)

Having to carry external battery packs and chargers with me at all times is annoying; pre-iPhone I simply carried an extra battery or two in my bag, which was much easier. Having to charge them was a bit of a hassle, but still I preferred that to having to carry chargers with me.
 
The only reason that I have run into where having a replaceable battery was good, was when my phone (non iPhone) locked up so bad, I had to pull out the battery. My opinion, leave it the way it is. Wireless charging within 5 years lol.
 
I see no reason to complain, when a phone does as much as the iPhone you gotta know that the battery life will not hold up under that much use.
 
i would rather have a non removable battery like the current iphone

-better battery life
-dont have to worry about battery covers
-battery pulls for shutoffs might be needed incase something goes wrong with the iphone
 
User-replaceable battery: when your phone dies, swap out the battery (you don't have to carry one with you if you don't want) and you are back to 100% charge in 30 seconds.

Non-replaceable battery: when your phone dies, you have to plug it in and wait 10 minutes for it to power up. You have wait over 2 hours while tethered to a power source until you are back to 100% charge.

Removable batteries have their advantages.
 
mavis said:
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS (OS4.0b3): Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A274b Safari/6531.22.7)

Having to carry external battery packs and chargers with me at all times is annoying; pre-iPhone I simply carried an extra battery or two in my bag, which was much easier. Having to charge them was a bit of a hassle, but still I preferred that to having to carry chargers with me.
Click to expand...

The charger is a simple USB cable. Thats as small if not smaller than another battery pack. And the wall charger is the size of a large grape. Still just as small if not smaller than another battery pack.

I agree with the OP. A Non-removable battery lets Apple add a larger battery, as well as other internal features.
 
I like having a non-replaceable battery. It is funny how on the other phones, when people drop them on the floor - the battery flies somewhere, the cover in another direction and the phone in third. Then they have to run around, search for the parts, put them back together, open the phone and hope it works.
 
angevil said:
I like having a non-replaceable battery. It is funny how on the other phones, when people drop them on the floor - the battery flies somewhere, the cover in another direction and the phone in third. Then they have to run around, search for the parts, put them back together, open the phone and hope it works.
Click to expand...

OMG, Yes! I was ALWAYS dropping my phones and having this happen. I hated it. Although, with the iPhone, I am so paranoid about breaking it that I haven't dropped it in the whole year I've had it. (knock on wood)
 
Thanks for your input. I sometimes watch comparison videos between mostly android phones and always the iPhone, and I'm tired of them always using the "non-replaceable battery" as a downfall.

Also, does anyone know how much it costs to replace an iPhone battery? Do you have to do it through Apple? And do you send in your phone or what? I'm still going by what I said before, but I'm just curious
 
cheeseblock said:
Thanks for your input. I sometimes watch comparison videos between mostly android phones and always the iPhone, and I'm tired of them always using the "non-replaceable battery" as a downfall.

Also, does anyone know how much it costs to replace an iPhone battery? Do you have to do it through Apple? And do you send in your phone or what? I'm still going by what I said before, but I'm just curious
Click to expand...


its like 80 bucks, and you can ship it if you want for another 8 bucks

kind of a rip off, but i never really needed too do it
 
Not sure if this thread is still active but I'm in the minority (I'm sure) who don't like the non user replaceable battery. To me, it just smacks of the one thing I don't like about Apple, which is that they keep you tethered to them even after you purchase your product. I'm dreading having to get my battery replaced. The inability to replace my own battery also led me to pass on their notebooks.
 
TheAppleGeek said:
I'm glad it doesn't. The phone looks nicer without it.
Click to expand...

Have you seen the Nexus One? It shows that you can have a design that looks nice and have a replaceable battery.

Personally, I like the idea of being able to replace the battery on the fly instead of taking it to apple. Carrying extra batteries instead of chargers is also a plus
 
maflynn said:
Have you seen the Nexus One? It shows that you can have a design that looks nice and have a replaceable battery.

Personally, I like the idea of being able to replace the battery on the fly instead of taking it to apple. Carrying extra batteries instead of chargers is also a plus
Click to expand...

Really? If it was the android phone that had a bigger longer lasting battery enclosed in the phone and the Iphone had a battery that could be easily removed you wouldn't be telling us how much better the android design was?
 
You can get a replacement battery for about $10 now and with guides like ifixit, do the replacement yourself in about 30 minutes or have a techie friend help you. I've done three already and replaced a water damaged dock connector.

As for mobile power, I keep one of those booster packs charged up in my bag. iPhone gets low, I plug it in and it charges. Also very cheap from places like monoprice.

Just adding these for those who don't know its an option.
 
The iPhone doesn't seem to get messed up and need a hard reboot as often as some of the other phones. Blackberry, for instance, needs a batter pull and restart at least once a week. If I couldn't pull the battery on the 'berry, I could not use the phone.
 
I have an N1 and a 3GS. Agree with you 100%. It can be tough to remove the battery cover on the N1, but once you get the hang of it it is straightfoward. Also, a 2nd battery cost me $25, which is quite a bit cheaper than an iphone battery.

My 3GS battery life is horrible. I have to charge it 2-3 times a day. I have been to the apple store twice and they say the battery life is normal. What a joke! It used to be much better than it is now. My N1 gets twice the battery life of my 3GS. When the battery dies its replacement cost $25. The 3GS battery is 4x's the price.

maflynn said:
Have you seen the Nexus One? It shows that you can have a design that looks nice and have a replaceable battery.

Personally, I like the idea of being able to replace the battery on the fly instead of taking it to apple. Carrying extra batteries instead of chargers is also a plus
Click to expand...
 
My N1 lasts twice as long as my 3GS. I use both phones and they both have their pluses and minuses. I am comparing battery life on an 11 month old iphone to a 2 month old N1, so it may not be a fair comparison. However, when the N1 battery dies I can replace it at low cost and in about 10 seconds.


dtboice said:
Really? If it was the android phone that had a bigger longer lasting battery enclosed in the phone and the Iphone had a battery that could be easily removed you wouldn't be telling us how much better the android design was?
Click to expand...
 
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