3 ms·

User replacable batteries mean more e-waste, not less.

by tosc 4y ago

yazzku 4y ago
How is it more e-waste? With a glued-in battery you throw away the battery and the whole of the device. With the battery it's just the battery, and that probably is easier to recycle?
- olliej 4y ago
  Glued in batteries can be replaced, and frequently are, and if nothing else refurbishing companies exist. Refurbishing fails however if there isn't any software support for the hardware, and that's what causes a phone to become e-waste. The old school swappable batteries had batteries that died in negligible time and had to be discarded regularly, mechanical failure on the mounting bracket/clips to support the battery swap on the other hand send the device to the trash because they can't be fixed.
terribleperson 4y ago
It means more battery e-waste, but if it enables longer phone lifespan mightn't it lead to less total e-waste?
- tosc 4y ago
  It will lead to shorter phone lifespans. In addition to extra waste with every battery, and smaller batteries that have a shorter usefully life, replaceable batteries mean a weaker phone that is more prone to breakage.
- olliej 4y ago
  You get a weaker phone chassis, a less robust device (think IP water ratings), etc. What kills phones these days is not the battery or screen dying, it's the phone ceasing to get software updates. If you want to reduce e-waste, you should have legislation that requires manufacturers to provide full software support for say 5 years of major OS updates, and another 2-5 years of security updates after that.
  - yazzku 4y ago
    Hah, good point. But what kills phones are people buying a new one every year. I think software updates come in second.
    - olliej 4y ago
      HN skews the discussion - the vast majority of people are not buying a new phone a year, nor even every two. Moreover even when people do replace a phone they tend to pass on the old one, not just throw it in the trash, but again, that's only possible if the phone is still usable.

User replacable batteries mean more e-waste, not less.

by tosc 4y ago

User replacable batteries mean more e-waste, not less.

How is it more e-waste? With a glued-in battery you throw away the battery and the whole of the device. With the battery it's just the battery, and that probably is easier to recycle?

olliej 4y ago
Glued in batteries can be replaced, and frequently are, and if nothing else refurbishing companies exist. Refurbishing fails however if there isn't any software support for the hardware, and that's what causes a phone to become e-waste. The old school swappable batteries had batteries that died in negligible time and had to be discarded regularly, mechanical failure on the mounting bracket/clips to support the battery swap on the other hand send the device to the trash because they can't be fixed.

terribleperson 4y ago

It means more battery e-waste, but if it enables longer phone lifespan mightn't it lead to less total e-waste?

tosc 4y ago
It will lead to shorter phone lifespans. In addition to extra waste with every battery, and smaller batteries that have a shorter usefully life, replaceable batteries mean a weaker phone that is more prone to breakage.
olliej 4y ago
You get a weaker phone chassis, a less robust device (think IP water ratings), etc. What kills phones these days is not the battery or screen dying, it's the phone ceasing to get software updates. If you want to reduce e-waste, you should have legislation that requires manufacturers to provide full software support for say 5 years of major OS updates, and another 2-5 years of security updates after that.
- yazzku 4y ago
  Hah, good point. But what kills phones are people buying a new one every year. I think software updates come in second.
  - olliej 4y ago
    HN skews the discussion - the vast majority of people are not buying a new phone a year, nor even every two. Moreover even when people do replace a phone they tend to pass on the old one, not just throw it in the trash, but again, that's only possible if the phone is still usable.