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Make battery packs (call them "removable batteries, if you like") 100% completely and totally separate from the device itself - think of it like a UPS for a des

Make battery packs (call them "removable batteries, if you like") 100% completely and totally separate from the device itself - think of it like a UPS for a desktop...no (or practically "no") battery on/in the device, and instead you run the device with a Qi-compatible battery pack IOW - the device becomes 30-50% lighter (on its own), and the buyer determines how heavy his/her experience will be based on which Qi-pack [s]he has chosen to run their phone Want a 10,000mAh battery? No problem! Want only a 2,000mAh battery? Again: no problem! This even solves a problem Apple has let other vendors 'solve' with regard to cases - want an OtterBox? CrayolaCase? SiliconSoftie? Go get your case from any of a thousand manufactures Apple could provide a pair (or trio, etc) of Qi-packs for their devices, and let other manufacturers go banana pants coming up with other options This modularizes the iPhone in a smart way (not like that goofy Motorola method (which was reminiscent of IBM in the 80s open-standardizing the buses for their Personal Computer) whereby the only thing you "have" to get from Motorola was the core module Apple's "core module" with such a program would still be iPhone ... and that is still the biggest differentiator Apple has vs the 80 scadzillion Android makers out there: iPhone is only Apple. Android is whomever wants to make one.

KingLancelot 3y ago
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threeseed 3y ago
I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not. Because Apple has had this for years a while now with the MagSafe battery pack. I actually think it should become a standard that all companies adopt. It's far easier and quicker to use than removable batteries and doesn't remove valuable space inside the phone.
- ProfessorLayton 3y ago
  It’s also incredibly wasteful. 30-40% of a battery bank’s capacity is lost to inefficiency, and even worse with a case on. It would be great if phones commonly offered pogo pins on the back in addition to wireless charging.
foobiekr 3y ago
I used to feel like you - the non-removable battery thing was annoying, the non-modular flash was a deal breaker, etc. None of them turned out to matter, at all. What does matter is a solid feel and solid construction and the flash and batteries lasting the lifetime of the product. I'd rather have that than replaceable.
- highwaylights 3y ago
  But the batteries dont last the lifetime of the product. Most iPhones are still very useful devices by the time their batteries have deteriorated below 70% original capacity.
  - BreveDev 3y ago
    iPhone batteries can be replaced for $89 from Apple and last for years. This is not the problem you think it is
  - warrenm 3y ago
    I usually keep my phones for about 4 years The devices start glitching and/or won't run newer apps as well as they should long before the battery goes on them
    - highwaylights 3y ago
      Are the apps you're using substantially better than they were 4 years ago? Are they doing substantially more for you that you wanted from them? If the hardware is failing then I guess fair enough (it shouldn't be, that's a design defect), but inflated hardware demands to compensate for increasingly sloppy code isn't a reasonable justification to demand dropping another $500+ on a device that works fine. I recently gifted a used iPhone X to a relative. It's still an exceptional device on which the hardware works as well as it ever did, minus the reduced battery life. I would have been happy to keep using it if I could replace the battery simply and it was still getting O/S updates. (As it is, the device still receives security updates, which I can't really grump at Apple for after almost six years - but only because they're better than the rest of the industry. It's still a poor situation).
crooked-v 3y ago
This is basically what they're doing with the Vision Pro, though out of engineering necessity rather than preference: the headset by itself only has about 5 minutes of battery life, to give you just enough margin to swap out the external battery pack you keep in a pocket.
- lxgr 3y ago
  Hopefully that internal battery is purely optional, i.e. implemented like in most laptops and not like in most phones, where it's impossible to use a device with a dead battery even when externally powered. Otherwise it'd be the worst of both worlds.
LeafItAlone 3y ago
> instead you run the device with a Qi-compatible battery pack And lose 20% percent efficiency? A bigger battery for the same usage time and my device is constantly warmer? Sign me up! /s
- warrenm 3y ago
  I used Qi as an example - a couple folks have suggested some kind of pogo-pin arrangement (maybe a derivation of the MagSafe connector?)
ankushnarula 3y ago
Agree with the most of youir premise - but a magnetically aligned and secured pogo-pin interface on the bottom back edge of every MacBook might be superior to inductive charging, which wastes electricity and generates too much heat. Such battery packs could also include a second pair of pass-thru pins for stacking and connecting to a direct wall power adapter.
- warrenm 3y ago
  was not really thinking about MacBook, more iPhone (and, possibly iPad) ... but that is an intriguing idea, too: supply a basic battery that would last for X long, and have a pass-through (hermetically-sealed, if you wanted to move into the IPS zone for dust/liquid resistance) MagSafe (or similar) connector for additional battery packs on the bottom I could totally see getting a second laptop-footprint-shaped pod for my MBA that would click on and give me another 20-40h of run time between charges!

KingLancelot 3y ago

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threeseed 3y ago

I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not. Because Apple has had this for years a while now with the MagSafe battery pack. I actually think it should become a standard that all companies adopt. It's far easier and quicker to use than removable batteries and doesn't remove valuable space inside the phone.

ProfessorLayton 3y ago
It’s also incredibly wasteful. 30-40% of a battery bank’s capacity is lost to inefficiency, and even worse with a case on. It would be great if phones commonly offered pogo pins on the back in addition to wireless charging.

foobiekr 3y ago

I used to feel like you - the non-removable battery thing was annoying, the non-modular flash was a deal breaker, etc. None of them turned out to matter, at all. What does matter is a solid feel and solid construction and the flash and batteries lasting the lifetime of the product. I'd rather have that than replaceable.

highwaylights 3y ago
But the batteries dont last the lifetime of the product. Most iPhones are still very useful devices by the time their batteries have deteriorated below 70% original capacity.
- BreveDev 3y ago
  iPhone batteries can be replaced for $89 from Apple and last for years. This is not the problem you think it is
- warrenm 3y ago
  I usually keep my phones for about 4 years The devices start glitching and/or won't run newer apps as well as they should long before the battery goes on them
  - highwaylights 3y ago
    Are the apps you're using substantially better than they were 4 years ago? Are they doing substantially more for you that you wanted from them? If the hardware is failing then I guess fair enough (it shouldn't be, that's a design defect), but inflated hardware demands to compensate for increasingly sloppy code isn't a reasonable justification to demand dropping another $500+ on a device that works fine. I recently gifted a used iPhone X to a relative. It's still an exceptional device on which the hardware works as well as it ever did, minus the reduced battery life. I would have been happy to keep using it if I could replace the battery simply and it was still getting O/S updates. (As it is, the device still receives security updates, which I can't really grump at Apple for after almost six years - but only because they're better than the rest of the industry. It's still a poor situation).

crooked-v 3y ago

This is basically what they're doing with the Vision Pro, though out of engineering necessity rather than preference: the headset by itself only has about 5 minutes of battery life, to give you just enough margin to swap out the external battery pack you keep in a pocket.

lxgr 3y ago
Hopefully that internal battery is purely optional, i.e. implemented like in most laptops and not like in most phones, where it's impossible to use a device with a dead battery even when externally powered. Otherwise it'd be the worst of both worlds.

LeafItAlone 3y ago

> instead you run the device with a Qi-compatible battery pack And lose 20% percent efficiency? A bigger battery for the same usage time and my device is constantly warmer? Sign me up! /s

warrenm 3y ago
I used Qi as an example - a couple folks have suggested some kind of pogo-pin arrangement (maybe a derivation of the MagSafe connector?)

ankushnarula 3y ago

Agree with the most of youir premise - but a magnetically aligned and secured pogo-pin interface on the bottom back edge of every MacBook might be superior to inductive charging, which wastes electricity and generates too much heat. Such battery packs could also include a second pair of pass-thru pins for stacking and connecting to a direct wall power adapter.

warrenm 3y ago
was not really thinking about MacBook, more iPhone (and, possibly iPad) ... but that is an intriguing idea, too: supply a basic battery that would last for X long, and have a pass-through (hermetically-sealed, if you wanted to move into the IPS zone for dust/liquid resistance) MagSafe (or similar) connector for additional battery packs on the bottom I could totally see getting a second laptop-footprint-shaped pod for my MBA that would click on and give me another 20-40h of run time between charges!