4 ms·

> used a phone there are almost no smartphones where you can easily replace the battery these days.

Semaphor 3y ago
While it’s probably not easily, it was (to me) surprisingly easy to change the battery in my OnePlus 5. The battery itself was glued, but not in a way that removing it would destroy anything else. The other parts just required normal phone repair tools.
seba_dos1 3y ago
Thankfully, in the niche I'm interested in it's still common. On my Librem 5 I can replace the battery with nothing but a fingernail to take the back cover out, and could do so the same way on all the other smartphone's I've used in the past too.
superkuh 3y ago
But there are options. And instead of having people chose themselves to pick these options and refuse to buy terrible phones the EU is instead saying it will use the force of government violence against other people so that only phones of their desired non-shittiness are sold there. I really don't thinking bringing violence into this situation is called for. The EU is showing is an implicit assumption that people cannot make choices for themselves and violence must be used by the state to get them to make the correct choices. That's nasty and a very slippery slope to authoritarianism. As a human person with volition I simply chose not to buy bad, anti-consumer devices. It is possible. And I do it without the government threatening violence on my behalf.
- kaba0 3y ago
  Come on, what a stupid take.. what violence? Let’s also call out the EU next for “using violence” and disallows selling grinded shit as food.. capitalism doesn’t work without rules, period! It’s as per the very Adam Smith! Libertarianism is absolutely divorced from reality.
  - superkuh 3y ago
    Bad food causes actual physical harm to people. This is violence. Bringing in state violence to prevent this actual physical harm makes all the sense in the world. Making a choice to buy a shitty phone with a glued in battery is not being harmed. There's no violence being done in this context. And there's no coercion involved. As for, "What violence?", how do you think laws are enforced? I hope this helps you better understand my "stupid take".
    - kaba0 3y ago
      Ok, let’s look at another example: gambling being illegal for kids. There is no physical harm being done in any way here, yet the “bad, evil EU” disallows it. And sure, there is the enforcement part of each governing agency. Calling it “violence” is just click-bait headline level nonsense.
      - superkuh 3y ago
        There are many regulations for minors that could never be applied to adults. Minors are not citizens with full rights; their activities are decided by their guardians and laws regulated minors infringe upon this lack of rights more often than not. That said, many governments and the DSM 5 do push the idea that gambling somehow invokes a lack of agency and control for the individual. In fact gambling disorder is the only medically recognized behavioral addiction (though it shouldn't be, this old wives tale is grandfathered in). It shows just how dangerous this kind of "they can't help themselves" thinking is in justifying bad laws that hurt people. Pretending that laws aren't enforced with physical force just because it is abstracted away from your daily life and experience doesn't change that it is violence. The use of physical force is the one thing governments have a monopoly over and it is what makes them governments.
    - oefnak 3y ago
      But it is bad for people... How can you not see that the government is protecting them from having to buy a new phone earlier, and the environment from easier separation of the different components? If it is a rule for all companies, it doesn't matter either way, economically speaking.
- Levitz 3y ago
  The people, themselves, are the ones electing EU officials and passing these regulations.
- mftrhu 3y ago
  You are the one who is bringing "violence" up. Telling people that there are standards they have to abide by before you will be willing to associate with them - before the EU, made up of multiple institutions which are voted by and represent its citizens, will allow a certain kind of devices to be sold on its market - is not violence. I have no idea how it could ever be considered "violence", given the fact that we are not talking about a law against human people - with or without volition - but against goods.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- fullspectrumdev 3y ago
  Was this comment written by an LLM? You know those of us in the EU elect these people who write these laws, right? And there’s public consultations and shit?
  - kevinmchugh 3y ago
    What percent of phones sold in the EU last year had user replace batteries? It seems like revealed preference is for devices without replaceable batteries.
    - oefnak 3y ago
      No, it was just less important than choosing the OS. When everything is equal, of course people prefer replaceable batteries. This rule makes all phones equal, because it is obligatory.
      - kevinmchugh 3y ago
        Samsung makes Android phones with replaceable batteries - are those the leading Android phones in the EU? How is this feature so important the government must mandate it be present in all phones, yet not the most important feature when buying a new phone?
andrewaylett 3y ago
I recently replaced the battery in a Pixel 4. Definitely not latest-and-greatest, but also still just about getting feature updates. I think the biggest challenge for most people would be confidence, rather than it being intrinsically difficult. iFixit sold me a kit with all the necessary (OEM) parts and (iFixit) tools, and they have a web page with sufficiently-detailed instructions.
- sroussey 3y ago
  Last time I changed a battery in a phone I paid apple $69 and walked the mall for an hour. Pretty painless.
  - seba_dos1 3y ago
    Last time I changed a battery in a phone I used my fingernail to pop the back cover out and swapped an empty battery with a fully charged one in about 30 seconds.
  - andrewaylett 3y ago
    That (or the independent retailer equivalent, and for an Android) was plan A, but over a year after formulating that plan, it hadn't actually happened. The kit was a smidge cheaper, and honestly I quite enjoyed doing it myself. As a bonus, I still have the tools.
- jacooper 3y ago
  The pixel 4 reached EOL earlier this year, you should upgrade.

While it’s probably not easily, it was (to me) surprisingly easy to change the battery in my OnePlus 5. The battery itself was glued, but not in a way that removing it would destroy anything else. The other parts just required normal phone repair tools.

seba_dos1 3y ago

Thankfully, in the niche I'm interested in it's still common. On my Librem 5 I can replace the battery with nothing but a fingernail to take the back cover out, and could do so the same way on all the other smartphone's I've used in the past too.

superkuh 3y ago

But there are options. And instead of having people chose themselves to pick these options and refuse to buy terrible phones the EU is instead saying it will use the force of government violence against other people so that only phones of their desired non-shittiness are sold there. I really don't thinking bringing violence into this situation is called for. The EU is showing is an implicit assumption that people cannot make choices for themselves and violence must be used by the state to get them to make the correct choices. That's nasty and a very slippery slope to authoritarianism. As a human person with volition I simply chose not to buy bad, anti-consumer devices. It is possible. And I do it without the government threatening violence on my behalf.

kaba0 3y ago
Come on, what a stupid take.. what violence? Let’s also call out the EU next for “using violence” and disallows selling grinded shit as food.. capitalism doesn’t work without rules, period! It’s as per the very Adam Smith! Libertarianism is absolutely divorced from reality.
- superkuh 3y ago
  Bad food causes actual physical harm to people. This is violence. Bringing in state violence to prevent this actual physical harm makes all the sense in the world. Making a choice to buy a shitty phone with a glued in battery is not being harmed. There's no violence being done in this context. And there's no coercion involved. As for, "What violence?", how do you think laws are enforced? I hope this helps you better understand my "stupid take".
  - kaba0 3y ago
    Ok, let’s look at another example: gambling being illegal for kids. There is no physical harm being done in any way here, yet the “bad, evil EU” disallows it. And sure, there is the enforcement part of each governing agency. Calling it “violence” is just click-bait headline level nonsense.
    - superkuh 3y ago
      There are many regulations for minors that could never be applied to adults. Minors are not citizens with full rights; their activities are decided by their guardians and laws regulated minors infringe upon this lack of rights more often than not. That said, many governments and the DSM 5 do push the idea that gambling somehow invokes a lack of agency and control for the individual. In fact gambling disorder is the only medically recognized behavioral addiction (though it shouldn't be, this old wives tale is grandfathered in). It shows just how dangerous this kind of "they can't help themselves" thinking is in justifying bad laws that hurt people. Pretending that laws aren't enforced with physical force just because it is abstracted away from your daily life and experience doesn't change that it is violence. The use of physical force is the one thing governments have a monopoly over and it is what makes them governments.
  - oefnak 3y ago
    But it is bad for people... How can you not see that the government is protecting them from having to buy a new phone earlier, and the environment from easier separation of the different components? If it is a rule for all companies, it doesn't matter either way, economically speaking.
Levitz 3y ago
The people, themselves, are the ones electing EU officials and passing these regulations.
mftrhu 3y ago
You are the one who is bringing "violence" up. Telling people that there are standards they have to abide by before you will be willing to associate with them - before the EU, made up of multiple institutions which are voted by and represent its citizens, will allow a certain kind of devices to be sold on its market - is not violence. I have no idea how it could ever be considered "violence", given the fact that we are not talking about a law against human people - with or without volition - but against goods.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
fullspectrumdev 3y ago
Was this comment written by an LLM? You know those of us in the EU elect these people who write these laws, right? And there’s public consultations and shit?
- kevinmchugh 3y ago
  What percent of phones sold in the EU last year had user replace batteries? It seems like revealed preference is for devices without replaceable batteries.
  - oefnak 3y ago
    No, it was just less important than choosing the OS. When everything is equal, of course people prefer replaceable batteries. This rule makes all phones equal, because it is obligatory.
    - kevinmchugh 3y ago
      Samsung makes Android phones with replaceable batteries - are those the leading Android phones in the EU? How is this feature so important the government must mandate it be present in all phones, yet not the most important feature when buying a new phone?

andrewaylett 3y ago

I recently replaced the battery in a Pixel 4. Definitely not latest-and-greatest, but also still just about getting feature updates. I think the biggest challenge for most people would be confidence, rather than it being intrinsically difficult. iFixit sold me a kit with all the necessary (OEM) parts and (iFixit) tools, and they have a web page with sufficiently-detailed instructions.

sroussey 3y ago
Last time I changed a battery in a phone I paid apple $69 and walked the mall for an hour. Pretty painless.
- seba_dos1 3y ago
  Last time I changed a battery in a phone I used my fingernail to pop the back cover out and swapped an empty battery with a fully charged one in about 30 seconds.
- andrewaylett 3y ago
  That (or the independent retailer equivalent, and for an Android) was plan A, but over a year after formulating that plan, it hadn't actually happened. The kit was a smidge cheaper, and honestly I quite enjoyed doing it myself. As a bonus, I still have the tools.
jacooper 3y ago
The pixel 4 reached EOL earlier this year, you should upgrade.