Non-replaceable battery? Not if this European bill passes!

A worrying trend in consumer electronics is the steady disappearance of replaceable batteries from our devices. Finding a cell phone with a replaceable battery is a struggle, and many other devices are following the trend by sealing a Li-Po cell. The result is an ever-shorter lifespan for electronic devices and a bigger problem with devices that go to recycling or even worse, to landfill. Hope is at hand, however, thanks to a proposed European Union law that, if passed, would make device batteries "designed so that consumers can easily remove and replace them themselves." -same".

In case any readers in the rest of the world are wondering what this has to do with them, the EU is such a huge market that manufacturers can neither ignore it nor in most cases afford to separate the EU from the rest of the world. global versions of their products. So if the EU requires something to be sold in its territories, in most cases that becomes the de facto standard for anything designed to be sold worldwide. We've seen this before with EU Right to Repair legislation, and while we have no doubt that manufacturers will do their best to prevent this new law, we don't think they will end up with it. take away.

Through 9to5Mac.