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I really hope that the industry will decide on their own to bring replaceable batteries back. I have accumulated so many old devices over the years and if you s

I really hope that the industry will decide on their own to bring replaceable batteries back. I have accumulated so many old devices over the years and if you stop using them regularly they take less than a year to degrade to the point where the device is perma bricked and in some cases the batteries become unsafe. I wanted to give my son my older iPhone I haven’t used in 5 years and it’s not able to hold a charge at all any more. That wasn’t the case when I stopped using it.

criddell 4y ago
Why not have Apple replace the battery? Surprisingly, it isn’t that expensive.
- the_mitsuhiko 4y ago
  I did. My issue is more with the fact that many people keep old devices around stashed away which over time can turn into fire risks.
  - CamperBob2 4y ago
    Are there any good sources of statistics that back up this concern?
    - Rebelgecko 4y ago
      I'm not sure about just sitting in a drawer, but 40% of garbage fires are caused by lithium ion batteries Source- https://apps.cce.csus.edu/sites/CalRecycle/usedoil18/speakers/uploads/5A.%20Kobold_CalRecycle%20HHW%20Conference%20CPSC%20Presentation%20Battery%20(Final).PDF https://apps.cce.csus.edu/sites/CalRecycle/usedoil18/speaker...
      - jacquesm 4y ago
        That's not quite the same thing as sitting still in a drawer though. Lithium-Ion batteries really don't like to be dropped or crushed. Basically anything that is a threat to the mechanical integrity of the cell should be really avoided.
    - everdrive 4y ago
      Not that I'm aware of, and I'd like to find some. It's a known fact that LiON batteries can spontaneously combust. I wish I had an easy metric which helped describe the risk of keeping old devices around.
      - ghaff 4y ago
        When I relegated my n-1 iPhone to driving music on my stereo I discovered that n-2 had a badly swollen case. Around the same time, I discovered an old MacBook Pro also had a badly swollen battery when I went to remove an SSD from it I wanted for another purpose. It's not clear to me how careful one should be about policing this sort of thing in general. Certainly I'm sure I have old LiON in things at home.
    - the_mitsuhiko 4y ago
      I have no public numbers but the learning materials for fire safety at the work place here has lithium ion batteries from old devices called out as the most common reason for fires in office buildings. Likewise the waste management companies here are routinely reporting fires in containers because people throw away old devices there against regulation.
- obscurette 4y ago
  I don't know about phones, but here where I live (Eastern Europe) there is no official Apple stores, but are official partners. I own 16 inch 2019 Macbook Pro which has cycle count 984 and doesn't hold much charge any more. I asked for a quote for replacement from official Apple partner and they said it would cost me 861 euros. I consider it very expensive.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - Gigachad 4y ago
    The 2019 MacBook had a horrible design that makes battery replacements almost impossible. They fixed it in 2021 so it’s significantly easier to swap now.
    - martin_a 4y ago
      Great! So, let's invest 2500+ Euro in a new MBP so the battery on that one can more easily be replaced in two years from now. That's a win! /s
      - Gigachad 4y ago
        Obviously it’s not a solution for someone who has a 2019 model. Just some context that improvement has been made here. Current MacBooks now use pull strips for adhesive.
        reustle 4y ago
        For the others who were curious how difficult the process was, here's a $130 replacement and a full guide on how to do it. Not easy by any means, but not impossible. https://www.ifixit.com/products/macbook-pro-16-2019-battery https://www.ifixit.com/products/macbook-pro-16-2019-battery
      - danaris 4y ago
        This legislation also won't help anyone with a 2019 MBP.
- gernb 4y ago
  How do you define expensive? I someone charges $7 for a coffee is that expensive or cheap? To replace a iPhone 14 Max battery Apple charges $99. I'm pretty confident 3rd parties could do that for much cheaper. Especially if 3rd parties were allowed to make the battery or if batteries sizes were standardized.
  - CharlesW 4y ago
    > I'm pretty confident 3rd parties could do that for much cheaper. That's not in question — we know that 3rd parties will sell cheap and unsafe replacement batteries. We know that consumers who don't understand the risks will buy them. We know that lots of people will get ripped off, and that some will be hurt.
  - InCityDreams 4y ago
    >How do you define expensive? I someone charges $7 for a coffee is that expensive or cheap? I use my "Guinness Scale": how many Guinnesses can I purchase using this money? I have three local pubs and each sells a Guinness for €6.50, therefore, to me a $7 coffee is expensive. My latest keyboard cost me 4.5G - bargain, as it's backlit, and I've had it for two weeks now - I also factor in use/ per annum/ per day - my bicycle cost has cost me 1.06G since I bought it in 2019, but I have added/ replaced parts and bought clothing which has taken the price to around 3G (and 2020 was a washout for sports). I also kniow how many Guinnesses I earn a month, and that helps with budgeting. The Guinness scale is adaptable: I sometimes use 'a pair of jeans', whatever gives me a perspective i can relate to.

criddell 4y ago

Why not have Apple replace the battery? Surprisingly, it isn’t that expensive.

the_mitsuhiko 4y ago
I did. My issue is more with the fact that many people keep old devices around stashed away which over time can turn into fire risks.
- CamperBob2 4y ago
  Are there any good sources of statistics that back up this concern?
  - Rebelgecko 4y ago
    I'm not sure about just sitting in a drawer, but 40% of garbage fires are caused by lithium ion batteries Source- https://apps.cce.csus.edu/sites/CalRecycle/usedoil18/speakers/uploads/5A.%20Kobold_CalRecycle%20HHW%20Conference%20CPSC%20Presentation%20Battery%20(Final).PDF https://apps.cce.csus.edu/sites/CalRecycle/usedoil18/speaker...
    - jacquesm 4y ago
      That's not quite the same thing as sitting still in a drawer though. Lithium-Ion batteries really don't like to be dropped or crushed. Basically anything that is a threat to the mechanical integrity of the cell should be really avoided.
  - everdrive 4y ago
    Not that I'm aware of, and I'd like to find some. It's a known fact that LiON batteries can spontaneously combust. I wish I had an easy metric which helped describe the risk of keeping old devices around.
    - ghaff 4y ago
      When I relegated my n-1 iPhone to driving music on my stereo I discovered that n-2 had a badly swollen case. Around the same time, I discovered an old MacBook Pro also had a badly swollen battery when I went to remove an SSD from it I wanted for another purpose. It's not clear to me how careful one should be about policing this sort of thing in general. Certainly I'm sure I have old LiON in things at home.
  - the_mitsuhiko 4y ago
    I have no public numbers but the learning materials for fire safety at the work place here has lithium ion batteries from old devices called out as the most common reason for fires in office buildings. Likewise the waste management companies here are routinely reporting fires in containers because people throw away old devices there against regulation.
obscurette 4y ago
I don't know about phones, but here where I live (Eastern Europe) there is no official Apple stores, but are official partners. I own 16 inch 2019 Macbook Pro which has cycle count 984 and doesn't hold much charge any more. I asked for a quote for replacement from official Apple partner and they said it would cost me 861 euros. I consider it very expensive.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- Gigachad 4y ago
  The 2019 MacBook had a horrible design that makes battery replacements almost impossible. They fixed it in 2021 so it’s significantly easier to swap now.
  - martin_a 4y ago
    Great! So, let's invest 2500+ Euro in a new MBP so the battery on that one can more easily be replaced in two years from now. That's a win! /s
    - Gigachad 4y ago
      Obviously it’s not a solution for someone who has a 2019 model. Just some context that improvement has been made here. Current MacBooks now use pull strips for adhesive.
      - reustle 4y ago
        For the others who were curious how difficult the process was, here's a $130 replacement and a full guide on how to do it. Not easy by any means, but not impossible. https://www.ifixit.com/products/macbook-pro-16-2019-battery https://www.ifixit.com/products/macbook-pro-16-2019-battery
    - danaris 4y ago
      This legislation also won't help anyone with a 2019 MBP.
gernb 4y ago
How do you define expensive? I someone charges $7 for a coffee is that expensive or cheap? To replace a iPhone 14 Max battery Apple charges $99. I'm pretty confident 3rd parties could do that for much cheaper. Especially if 3rd parties were allowed to make the battery or if batteries sizes were standardized.
- CharlesW 4y ago
  > I'm pretty confident 3rd parties could do that for much cheaper. That's not in question — we know that 3rd parties will sell cheap and unsafe replacement batteries. We know that consumers who don't understand the risks will buy them. We know that lots of people will get ripped off, and that some will be hurt.
- InCityDreams 4y ago
  >How do you define expensive? I someone charges $7 for a coffee is that expensive or cheap? I use my "Guinness Scale": how many Guinnesses can I purchase using this money? I have three local pubs and each sells a Guinness for €6.50, therefore, to me a $7 coffee is expensive. My latest keyboard cost me 4.5G - bargain, as it's backlit, and I've had it for two weeks now - I also factor in use/ per annum/ per day - my bicycle cost has cost me 1.06G since I bought it in 2019, but I have added/ replaced parts and bought clothing which has taken the price to around 3G (and 2020 was a washout for sports). I also kniow how many Guinnesses I earn a month, and that helps with budgeting. The Guinness scale is adaptable: I sometimes use 'a pair of jeans', whatever gives me a perspective i can relate to.