There is no way to overlook the fact that the EU has been hard at work to make a difference in the smartphone stratosphere. Over the past couple of months, we have seen how the EU is pushing Apple to shift to USB Type C. In addition, there is also a law in work that would allow other app stores, along with sideloading.
And last but not least, EU is also looking to impose 5-year security and 3-year OS updates for both iPhones and Android devices. Now, the latest effort from the EU focuses on making it easier for everyone to replace their phone battery, which was not as accessible previously.
Phone battery replacement could be a breeze thanks to the EU but will Apple and Samsung budge?
EU has proposed a new regulation to make the phone battery much more sustainable and reusable. The new regulation is not just about you being able to replace the battery. Still, it also considers aspects such as battery life cycle, material extraction, disposal, etc. If this regulation goes into effect, replaceable smartphone batteries could finally return.
In addition, the new proposal will also make it easier for consumers to know more about the phone battery they have purchased. This change will be introduced via labels or QR codes. If you have purchased a phone battery while in the EU, you will be able to get information such as capacity, performance, durability, chemical composition, and more.
The new regulation is not just going to benefit the consumers but the society as a whole because, based on the proposal, manufacturers will have to start working on and implementing a "due diligence policy" that will address the associated social and environmental risks with manufacturing the battery. This means that batteries produced must have a minimum level of recycled materials ranging from 16% cobalt, 85% lead, 6% lithium, and 6% nickel.
The latest regulation from the EU does not just extend to your standard phone battery. You are looking at SLI, LMT, EV, and industrial batteries. While all this is great, manufacturers will still have three and a half years before they start designing batteries that let users "easily remove and replace them themselves." You can read the entire press release here.
The idea of being able to replace my phone battery sounds lovely, but knowing companies like Apple and Samsung, it is not going to be an easy thing. Sure, the right-to-repair movement has been excellent, but we must understand that replacing the batteries in their current stage requires a certain level of skill that average users do not possess. User-replaceable batteries, on the other hand, are a great idea. You take out the battery, put the new one in, and are good to go.
Let us know what you think about the latest move by the EU.
