Your future smartphone must have a replaceable battery thanks to new EU ruling

In the very near future your smartphone will have to have a replaceable battery thanks to the powerful and influential European Union.

The EU will introduce the new law to make it easier to recycle batteries, make smartphones easier to repair and to reduce the amount of e-waste.

The vote was approved by European Council and Parliament and will come into effect by 2027.

This means that a customer will have to able to remove and replace the battery of the device easily and without tools.

And this will apply to not just smartphones but also tablets and cameras.

Companies like Apple, Samsung and Google will now have to abide by the decision and will need to alter the design and size of their future devices.

And being global companies it won’t be a case of making a version of their devices for European customers – they will have to alter their products for the whole world.

It was the same thing when the EU made the ruling on all smartphones having a USB-C port with all smartphones falling into place – including Apple when it releases the iPhone 15 in September.

So what is this going to mean for smartphones moving forward?

DESIGN

The size and thickness of phones may increase to accommodate this change.

Today’s phones have batteries that are made up of small cells located in different places inside the chassis.

A removable battery will have to be easily accessible and in one piece for easy removal.

This will surely affect the design of future smartphones.

And now with the introduction of foldable devices where the battery is placed on either half of the phone this will also pose a challenge.

DURABILITY

Today’s smartphones offer durability as well as water and dust resistance because they are sealed to prevent the ingress of liquid and dirt.

A smartphone with a removeable battery will require a back panel that can easily come away to access the battery.

If a back panel is not replaced precisely, it may leave the device susceptible to water damage in the event of an accidental spill.

BATTERY LIFE

One huge improvement we’ve seen in recent years is battery life because they are integrated into the phone’s design to maximise their size and capacity.

This move could possibly force manufacturers to include a smaller capacity battery to make it easier to remove and keep their devices thin and light.

WHERE DOES IT STOP?

Will laptops have to follow this ruling? What about powerbanks, smart devices and other portable devices?

One of the objectives of the ruling is to reduce e-waste.

Customers will have the option of replacing the battery which will deteriorate over time and hold less charge, rather than replacing their device.

A European Commission study from last year found that 77 per cent of EU residents would rather repair than replace their device.