You can still replace the battery. It requires more work but it’s generally not a complicated or difficult process on most phones and you only have to do it every few years. I’m not trying to defend non-removable batteries, but I think sometimes consumers pretend they are more powerless than they actually are over these issues.
Isnt the problem with a swappable battery, like you describe, that the phone will lose its waterproofing?
Dont get me wrong, i dont think they should be welded to the internals like they are these days, they should be easily removable, but getting into the phone shouldsnt be super simple unless they find a decent way to waterproof a removable back plate.
That’s pretty cool! i never had the S5. Looks like a good solution. It looks like it would work on a lot of phones today.
Although, i think there are design changes to consider on newer phones with more powerful hardware. I believe they contain empty space that is there to aid with cooling the phone so the solid body of the S5 shown in the link might not work, meaning there would need to be a specific cut out space for the gasket to seal against.
I appreciate that its probably not the most challenging problem to overcome, and i would very much appreciate companies spending more money on solving the issue. But i don’t think its a “one size fits all” solution in a world of vastly differing design choices, folding phones and modular phones.
Having said all that, i would much prefer for there to be less makes and models of phone and for the focus to be on designing something that won’t be useless in 5 years. It should all be about longevity and reducing e waste.
You shouldn’t need to do that anymore, batteries are much larger and chipsets are more efficient than when removable batteries were the norm. But even if you do need to charge, that’s why fast charging exists.
How do you charge the 2nd battery? Do you charge it slowly when home and keep it as spare while you use your main battery and wait for it to charge to full.
Remember when you too some spare AA batteries with you for your Gameboy/Walkman/Discman so that you didn’t run out of juice in the back seat of your parents suburban on the way to grandma’s?
There used to be external chargers. I’m not speaking Nokia times, I had a Xiaomi phablet with Android 5 or 6 with one of these. Just a frame for the battery with an USB input.
I have a Fairphone with swappable battery, I keep one charged at 80% in case I need a quick reload of my phone. And after I used it, I recharge it in the phone and swap back to the empty one to also recharge it.
Carrying a spare battery is much more compact than a power bank and charging cable though. Or even a wall adapter and charging cable, which also requires an outlet.
You can still replace the battery. It requires more work but it’s generally not a complicated or difficult process on most phones and you only have to do it every few years. I’m not trying to defend non-removable batteries, but I think sometimes consumers pretend they are more powerless than they actually are over these issues.
With a replaceable battery, you just carry a second one and swap them on the go
Isnt the problem with a swappable battery, like you describe, that the phone will lose its waterproofing?
Dont get me wrong, i dont think they should be welded to the internals like they are these days, they should be easily removable, but getting into the phone shouldsnt be super simple unless they find a decent way to waterproof a removable back plate.
I’m going to reply with a link to review of a phone that solved it with IP67 rating
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/samsung-galaxy-s5-smartphone,3908-3.html
That’s pretty cool! i never had the S5. Looks like a good solution. It looks like it would work on a lot of phones today.
Although, i think there are design changes to consider on newer phones with more powerful hardware. I believe they contain empty space that is there to aid with cooling the phone so the solid body of the S5 shown in the link might not work, meaning there would need to be a specific cut out space for the gasket to seal against.
I appreciate that its probably not the most challenging problem to overcome, and i would very much appreciate companies spending more money on solving the issue. But i don’t think its a “one size fits all” solution in a world of vastly differing design choices, folding phones and modular phones.
Having said all that, i would much prefer for there to be less makes and models of phone and for the focus to be on designing something that won’t be useless in 5 years. It should all be about longevity and reducing e waste.
You shouldn’t need to do that anymore, batteries are much larger and chipsets are more efficient than when removable batteries were the norm. But even if you do need to charge, that’s why fast charging exists.
In which you’d need a power bank and cable that youre carrying if you don’t want to be tethered to an outlet (which may or may not be available.)
Seems a second battery is just a better option.
How do you charge the 2nd battery? Do you charge it slowly when home and keep it as spare while you use your main battery and wait for it to charge to full.
Remember when you too some spare AA batteries with you for your Gameboy/Walkman/Discman so that you didn’t run out of juice in the back seat of your parents suburban on the way to grandma’s?
Pepperidge farm remembers.
There used to be external chargers. I’m not speaking Nokia times, I had a Xiaomi phablet with Android 5 or 6 with one of these. Just a frame for the battery with an USB input.
I have a Fairphone with swappable battery, I keep one charged at 80% in case I need a quick reload of my phone. And after I used it, I recharge it in the phone and swap back to the empty one to also recharge it.
Carrying a spare battery is much more compact than a power bank and charging cable though. Or even a wall adapter and charging cable, which also requires an outlet.
Just a sec Mom, I’ll just change my battery!