User replaceable battery vs rechargeable?

[lexvil]

There isn't.. that is what is bothering me. If consumers continue accepting that it is a norm to surrender their dc or mobile phones every x years to a service and pay $, I doubt anything will change as there is no incentive for the manufacturer.


I worked a decade an a half for a famous Finnish company in R&D. All batteries on phones we developed were user replaceable iirc. It was mostly North Americans brought non replaceable battery concept into the market, I guess you know which company I mean. I am hoping this trend will change back to earlier devices where you can actually swap the batteries.


Off course you can.

Well you carry on.

 

[dmaziuk]

Have you a cell phone?

Their obsolescence is built in above and beyond the mere battery.

Also the market is big enough that there's profit in making replacement batteries. And they are, in fact, replaceable: the newer phones just lose their waterproofing if you do it.

 

[lexvil]

Their obsolescence is built in above and beyond the mere battery.

Also the market is big enough that there's profit in making replacement batteries. And they are, in fact, replaceable: the newer phones just lose their waterproofing if you do it.

Phones are the standard for battery abuse.

 

[stuartv]

You really can’t get the great screens and overall capability in shuch a small form factor without recharging.

Exactly.

There isn't.. that is what is bothering me. If consumers continue accepting that it is a norm to surrender their dc or mobile phones every x years to a service and pay $, I doubt anything will change as there is no incentive for the manufacturer.

It is a shame the march of time bothers you.

I worked a decade an a half for a famous Finnish company in R&D. All batteries on phones we developed were user replaceable iirc. It was mostly North Americans brought non replaceable battery concept into the market, I guess you know which company I mean. I am hoping this trend will change back to earlier devices where you can actually swap the batteries.

Just like with phones, computers like the Teric and Descent do a myriad of things that computers from 20 years ago did not and could not do.

I expect time to march on and progress to continue. So, the notion that my Teric might die and not be repairable in 20 years does not really bother me. I will probably have other reasons to upgrade before then anyway.

Off course you can.

Proof? Who is doing it? If nobody is doing it, you're saying that it's not because it can't be done? it's because all the manufacturers just choose not to? And when I say "can't be done", of course I mean same size, same capabilities, and same (more or less) cost. Being able to make one, but having to charge twice the price doesn't count.

 

[Belzelbub]

There isn't.. that is what is bothering me. If consumers continue accepting that it is a norm to surrender their dc or mobile phones every x years to a service and pay $, I doubt anything will change as there is no incentive for the manufacturer.

It's not quite as simple as that.

Early cell phones had user replaceable batteries. It was often not even worth it as the battery pack was proprietary, so expensive, and only available for a short while. On top of that, there were conflicting demands placed on cell phone design. Presumably from what consumers were asking for. We wanted long battery life, big screens, fast processors, all sorts of radio communications (5G, WiFi, BT, etc.) and some level of water/contaminant protection. All while keeping the size and weight manageable. User replaceable battery packs eat up a lot of real estate, and on top of that you also need a means to keep water out. Years ago, I had a Motorola Defy, which was one of only a handful of IP67 rated phones. It actually had a removable battery than was under a gasket cover. It had a latch and the cover had a bit of a curve, so the latch would compress the gasket. Even so, I wouldn't trust that very deep. Battery pack probably accounted for 40% of the overall size. That's really not doable anymore today. So many cameras, and radios, memory, processors etc. the battery needs to be squeezed into whatever space is available.

And that's just for cell phones. Watches are much smaller, so constraints even greater.

 

[lexvil]

It's not quite as simple as that.

Early cell phones had user replaceable batteries. It was often not even worth it as the battery pack was proprietary, so expensive, and only available for a short while. On top of that, there were conflicting demands placed on cell phone design. Presumably from what consumers were asking for. We wanted long battery life, big screens, fast processors, all sorts of radio communications (5G, WiFi, BT, etc.) and some level of water/contaminant protection. All while keeping the size and weight manageable. User replaceable battery packs eat up a lot of real estate, and on top of that you also need a means to keep water out. Years ago, I had a Motorola Defy, which was one of only a handful of IP67 rated phones. It actually had a removable battery than was under a gasket cover. It had a latch and the cover had a bit of a curve, so the latch would compress the gasket. Even so, I wouldn't trust that very deep. Battery pack probably accounted for 40% of the overall size. That's really not doable anymore today. So many cameras, and radios, memory, processors etc. the battery needs to be squeezed into whatever space is available.

And that's just for cell phones. Watches are much smaller, so constraints even greater.

Had a bag phone in the 90’s, had a user replaceable battery, if people are afraid of progress they should try one of those lead acid wonders.

 

[scubaozy]

Just like with phones, computers like the Teric and Descent do a myriad of things that computers from 20 years ago did not and could not do.

I expect time to march on and progress to continue. So, the notion that my Teric might die and not be repairable in 20 years does not really bother me. I will probably have other reasons to upgrade before then anyway.

Since multi gas computers there are not a lot of major tech developments apart from color displays, perhaps ai which is not mandatory. If you remember my original post, my 20 years life expectancy of the device is coming from velocity of the developments in the industry.
EU already announced mobile phones by 2027 should have easily replaceable batteries. Lets hope we both can adapt to march of time. Next is probably wearables.

Proof? Who is doing it? If nobody is doing it, you're saying that it's not because it can't be done? it's because all the manufacturers just choose not to? And when I say "can't be done", of course I mean same size, same capabilities, and same (more or less) cost. Being able to make one, but having to charge twice the price doesn't count.

Price and cost are not that connected, we are speaking of premium devices, not cost competitors. Garmin and SW Teric figured that they can get away with charging that amount without loss of demand. Developing good products isn't easy or cheap, manufacturers need good incentive. If you do not demand better, you will not get it.

 

[brsnow]

Why does the decent have a modern battery and the Teric seems to have one from the 90’s?

 

[BoltSnap]

It was mostly North Americans brought non replaceable battery concept into the market, I guess you know which company I mean.

You just don't like Americans

 

[scubaozy]

You just don't like Americans

I said North.