4 ms·

Your experience is not at all what I see out there. Most people I know only get new phones because their battery will no longer get them through the day. They h

by coda_ 6mo ago

Your experience is not at all what I see out there. Most people I know only get new phones because their battery will no longer get them through the day. They hate having to set up a new phone when their old one is totally fine other than the battery. For the people I know that do upgrade their phones regularly, they typically want to give their old phone to someone who would love a usable phone, but can't afford a new one. Giving a phone with a shot and non-replaceable battery effectively destroys the value of the gift. I know many people who can't afford to by new, and they avoid buying older or used phones because they fear the battery may be shot. We obviously have different opinions regarding what most people want... totally fine.

cactusplant7374 6mo ago
> They hate having to set up a new phone when their old one is totally fine other than the battery. That is why I have the battery replaced every few years.
0x3f 6mo ago
It would seem that "different opinions are out there" is not really a good basis for "one opinion enforced by EU directive", though.
- Mali- 6mo ago
  If your battery is replaceable, you can still decide to throw the phone away and add to the pile of e-waste. The legislation allows both choices, at the cost of higher prices.
  - stefanvdw1 6mo ago
    Having a higher price is an incentive to using the phone you have a bit longer by replacing the battery. It’s certainly better than having them be guaranteed e-waste.
  - 0x3f 6mo ago
    Obviously people aren't finding the literal act of wasteful disposal the appealing thing about e.g. non-self-repairable iPhones, so no, not really.
- Am4TIfIsER0ppos 6mo ago
  This but for USB-C
rootusrootus 6mo ago
Even going directly to Apple for out-of-warranty battery replacement is almost always way cheaper than getting another phone.
srmatto 6mo ago
I can't speak to the experience with Android but Apple offers both in-store battery replacement or Mail-in battery replacement for $70-120 which to me seems very reasonable. Could it be cheaper? Sure, maybe I guess? But $70-120 is a lot less than a new phone. And this way we don't need to compromise the shell of the phone with seams and things that can fail. https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-replacement https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-replacement
- antonvs 6mo ago
  > And this way we don't need to compromise the shell of the phone with seams and things that can fail. My older Samsung Galaxy had an easy clip-off back cover and easily replaceable battery. Nothing related to that ever failed. Whereas two newer Pixel phones have had issues with the back cover glue coming loose, leading to interior damage. Given that, the idea that a case that can be opened easily “compromises the shell of the phone” sounds like a weak excuse for some other deficiency or agenda.
  - dpoloncsak 6mo ago
    Can you keep the same water-resistant standards with a removable cover? In my head that's the main tradeoff
    - albuic 6mo ago
      Yes you can! It was done with many phones in the past...
    - buran77 6mo ago
      > the same water-resistant standards You can have water protection and easily replaceable battery. Still, I'm really curious about how many people take advantage of those standards and need IP67 (30min at 1m depth) as opposed to a quick splash or rain on it, or how many buy the artificial tradeoff of water resistance over easily replaceable battery because this is all that's offered.
- nozzlegear 6mo ago
concinds 6mo ago
> Most people I know only get new phones because their battery will no longer get them through the day Getting the battery replaced is already trivial and cheap. Revealed preference is that most people say they want it, but don't. This won't even decrease the cost or difficulty (you'll still need a screwdriver).
- MaKey 6mo ago
  It isn't trivial (you can't do it yourself) nor cheap (79€ for Samsung phones).
  - halostatue 6mo ago
    That's at most 1/10th the cost of the average Samsung phone. That's cheap. If you think that a safe first-party replacement battery will sell for less than the 79€ that the whole replacement effort takes, then you're fooling yourself. I strongly suspect that there's also not good language for blocking against third-party batteries (and the phone manufacturers would have good reason to do so because it might result in overheating or worse with really bad third-party batteries).
    - 0cf8612b2e1e 6mo ago
      The people for whom €79 is not cheap are not getting flagship Samsungs, but some low tier $100-300 Android.
    - ragall 6mo ago
      Here's a replacement battery for last year's S25 Ultra: https://www.mobilesentrix.ca/replacement-battery-compatible-for-samsung-galaxy-s25-ultra-premium https://www.mobilesentrix.ca/replacement-battery-compatible-.... Retails for 14 CAD or approx 9 EUR (11 EUR with a 20% VAT). So yes, 79 EUR would be extremely expensive.
- fer 6mo ago
  But replacing a replaceable battery is trivialer and cheaperer. I've replaced more batteries (and screens) than I can count, and it's increasingly difficult and complicated. 5 years ago or so I'd agree with you, but now there's no phone I can easily open without heat gun, controlling the air so no spec of dust land on the lenses (and a blower to remove in case it happens), and almost always I need adhesive (B7000) to patch or replace the original one to keep similar level of weather proofing. It's easy if you pay 100 bucks someone else to do it, sure. Back in the days of my HTC Desire I could carry an extra battery, or two, in the pocket, without issue. Nowadays I'm married to a power bank that needs to be plugged for the duration.
superfrank 6mo ago
> Most people I know only get new phones because their battery will no longer get them through the day I don't disagree with this, but I also think it's because the battery often dies around the time most people would consider upgrading anyway. The battery isn't the only reason people upgrade, it's just a forcing factor. If batteries normally last 3-5 years, I don't think we're going to start seeing most people keep their phones for 7-10 years. I still think we're going to see people upgrading around the 3-5 year mark. I would point to the current market as evidence of this. An iPhone battery replacement is somewhere between $50-$100 right now which is drastically cheaper than a new iPhone and yet we still see the 3-5 year upgrade cycle. Maybe making it something you can do at home in a few minutes will result in a few more people just choosing to replace the battery vs the entire phone, but I don't see it drastically changing things since a cheap alternative to replacing the phone already exists and yet we still see the 3-5 year replacement cycle.
- bluefirebrand 6mo ago
  > most people would consider upgrading anyway most people would buy one phone and keep it forever if they could, because most people can't actually afford to be replacing their phone frequently. The only reason they do is because they get slower, or battery gets worn out or whatever else. If their one phone actually lasted forever they would likely happily keep it forever
  - 0cf8612b2e1e 6mo ago
    Especially now that there are near zero new hardware features to differentiate the latest models. “Oh 3MP better camera on what was already a fake big number. Cool, I guess” The only reason I upgraded to my current model was to get USBC (thanks Europe!!!).
    - deleted 6mo ago
      [deleted]
  - albuic 6mo ago
    Agreed. Not much differences between new phones and couple years older phones if you are not doing crazy gaming on phones. At least for me but maybe some of you might have good reasons to upgrade and can tell us ?
jesterson 6mo ago
> Most people I know only get new phones because their battery will no longer get them through the day. I am not sure if your statistic is correct or people giving you excuses to get the latest model. If we speak iphones, flipping the battery is cheap and fast process, incomparable with the hassle of doing re-setup. I am not sure if the process is equally or more simple with android phones though, but in my circle noone buys new phone because of the battery (often the battery is used as excuse to get a newer model).
- saghm 6mo ago
  > I am not sure if the process is equally or more simple with android phones though, but in my circle noone buys new phone because of the battery (often the battery is used as excuse to get a newer model). Your circle sounds pretty strange honestly. Everyone in it lies to you about why they do things, but you secretly know their real motivations?
gib444 6mo ago
Most people I know get a new phone because the marketing works on them and they lie that it's about the battery. They all know about Apple's battery replacement programme that's been around for years now And iCloud backups makes setting up a new phone trivial
dsego 6mo ago
It's now possible to carry a spare battery or two, instead of lugging a portable power bank and slowly charging your phone. This is great news for outdoorsy types, travel, long bicycle rides, hiking, and so on.
- scottyah 6mo ago
  but they require you to have a special charger, or typically you have to charge them one by one from your phone. Swapping batteries also requires downtime (not easy mid-flight, cycle, or whatever you're doing). A portable battery charger is much better imo. Plugging in a cord is always going to be easier and require less hands and focus than replacing a battery and keeping any kind of dust-and waterproofness.
burnte 6mo ago
> Most people I know only get new phones because their battery will no longer get them through the day. Most people I know get a new phone when they can't take the cracked screen anymore, or when they completely lose the phone. Or because a pretty new one came out and they upgraded two years ago so it's "time". That's most people.

by coda_ 6mo ago

cactusplant7374 6mo ago

> They hate having to set up a new phone when their old one is totally fine other than the battery. That is why I have the battery replaced every few years.

0x3f 6mo ago

It would seem that "different opinions are out there" is not really a good basis for "one opinion enforced by EU directive", though.

Mali- 6mo ago
If your battery is replaceable, you can still decide to throw the phone away and add to the pile of e-waste. The legislation allows both choices, at the cost of higher prices.
- stefanvdw1 6mo ago
  Having a higher price is an incentive to using the phone you have a bit longer by replacing the battery. It’s certainly better than having them be guaranteed e-waste.
- 0x3f 6mo ago
  Obviously people aren't finding the literal act of wasteful disposal the appealing thing about e.g. non-self-repairable iPhones, so no, not really.
Am4TIfIsER0ppos 6mo ago
This but for USB-C

rootusrootus 6mo ago

Even going directly to Apple for out-of-warranty battery replacement is almost always way cheaper than getting another phone.

srmatto 6mo ago

I can't speak to the experience with Android but Apple offers both in-store battery replacement or Mail-in battery replacement for $70-120 which to me seems very reasonable. Could it be cheaper? Sure, maybe I guess? But $70-120 is a lot less than a new phone. And this way we don't need to compromise the shell of the phone with seams and things that can fail. https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-replacement https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-replacement

antonvs 6mo ago
> And this way we don't need to compromise the shell of the phone with seams and things that can fail. My older Samsung Galaxy had an easy clip-off back cover and easily replaceable battery. Nothing related to that ever failed. Whereas two newer Pixel phones have had issues with the back cover glue coming loose, leading to interior damage. Given that, the idea that a case that can be opened easily “compromises the shell of the phone” sounds like a weak excuse for some other deficiency or agenda.
- dpoloncsak 6mo ago
  Can you keep the same water-resistant standards with a removable cover? In my head that's the main tradeoff
  - albuic 6mo ago
    Yes you can! It was done with many phones in the past...
  - buran77 6mo ago
    > the same water-resistant standards You can have water protection and easily replaceable battery. Still, I'm really curious about how many people take advantage of those standards and need IP67 (30min at 1m depth) as opposed to a quick splash or rain on it, or how many buy the artificial tradeoff of water resistance over easily replaceable battery because this is all that's offered.
nozzlegear 6mo ago

concinds 6mo ago

> Most people I know only get new phones because their battery will no longer get them through the day Getting the battery replaced is already trivial and cheap. Revealed preference is that most people say they want it, but don't. This won't even decrease the cost or difficulty (you'll still need a screwdriver).

MaKey 6mo ago
It isn't trivial (you can't do it yourself) nor cheap (79€ for Samsung phones).
- halostatue 6mo ago
  That's at most 1/10th the cost of the average Samsung phone. That's cheap. If you think that a safe first-party replacement battery will sell for less than the 79€ that the whole replacement effort takes, then you're fooling yourself. I strongly suspect that there's also not good language for blocking against third-party batteries (and the phone manufacturers would have good reason to do so because it might result in overheating or worse with really bad third-party batteries).
  - 0cf8612b2e1e 6mo ago
    The people for whom €79 is not cheap are not getting flagship Samsungs, but some low tier $100-300 Android.
  - ragall 6mo ago
    Here's a replacement battery for last year's S25 Ultra: https://www.mobilesentrix.ca/replacement-battery-compatible-for-samsung-galaxy-s25-ultra-premium https://www.mobilesentrix.ca/replacement-battery-compatible-.... Retails for 14 CAD or approx 9 EUR (11 EUR with a 20% VAT). So yes, 79 EUR would be extremely expensive.
fer 6mo ago
But replacing a replaceable battery is trivialer and cheaperer. I've replaced more batteries (and screens) than I can count, and it's increasingly difficult and complicated. 5 years ago or so I'd agree with you, but now there's no phone I can easily open without heat gun, controlling the air so no spec of dust land on the lenses (and a blower to remove in case it happens), and almost always I need adhesive (B7000) to patch or replace the original one to keep similar level of weather proofing. It's easy if you pay 100 bucks someone else to do it, sure. Back in the days of my HTC Desire I could carry an extra battery, or two, in the pocket, without issue. Nowadays I'm married to a power bank that needs to be plugged for the duration.

superfrank 6mo ago

> Most people I know only get new phones because their battery will no longer get them through the day I don't disagree with this, but I also think it's because the battery often dies around the time most people would consider upgrading anyway. The battery isn't the only reason people upgrade, it's just a forcing factor. If batteries normally last 3-5 years, I don't think we're going to start seeing most people keep their phones for 7-10 years. I still think we're going to see people upgrading around the 3-5 year mark. I would point to the current market as evidence of this. An iPhone battery replacement is somewhere between $50-$100 right now which is drastically cheaper than a new iPhone and yet we still see the 3-5 year upgrade cycle. Maybe making it something you can do at home in a few minutes will result in a few more people just choosing to replace the battery vs the entire phone, but I don't see it drastically changing things since a cheap alternative to replacing the phone already exists and yet we still see the 3-5 year replacement cycle.

bluefirebrand 6mo ago
> most people would consider upgrading anyway most people would buy one phone and keep it forever if they could, because most people can't actually afford to be replacing their phone frequently. The only reason they do is because they get slower, or battery gets worn out or whatever else. If their one phone actually lasted forever they would likely happily keep it forever
- 0cf8612b2e1e 6mo ago
  Especially now that there are near zero new hardware features to differentiate the latest models. “Oh 3MP better camera on what was already a fake big number. Cool, I guess” The only reason I upgraded to my current model was to get USBC (thanks Europe!!!).
  - deleted 6mo ago
    [deleted]
- albuic 6mo ago
  Agreed. Not much differences between new phones and couple years older phones if you are not doing crazy gaming on phones. At least for me but maybe some of you might have good reasons to upgrade and can tell us ?

jesterson 6mo ago

> Most people I know only get new phones because their battery will no longer get them through the day. I am not sure if your statistic is correct or people giving you excuses to get the latest model. If we speak iphones, flipping the battery is cheap and fast process, incomparable with the hassle of doing re-setup. I am not sure if the process is equally or more simple with android phones though, but in my circle noone buys new phone because of the battery (often the battery is used as excuse to get a newer model).

saghm 6mo ago
> I am not sure if the process is equally or more simple with android phones though, but in my circle noone buys new phone because of the battery (often the battery is used as excuse to get a newer model). Your circle sounds pretty strange honestly. Everyone in it lies to you about why they do things, but you secretly know their real motivations?

gib444 6mo ago

Most people I know get a new phone because the marketing works on them and they lie that it's about the battery. They all know about Apple's battery replacement programme that's been around for years now And iCloud backups makes setting up a new phone trivial

dsego 6mo ago

It's now possible to carry a spare battery or two, instead of lugging a portable power bank and slowly charging your phone. This is great news for outdoorsy types, travel, long bicycle rides, hiking, and so on.

scottyah 6mo ago
but they require you to have a special charger, or typically you have to charge them one by one from your phone. Swapping batteries also requires downtime (not easy mid-flight, cycle, or whatever you're doing). A portable battery charger is much better imo. Plugging in a cord is always going to be easier and require less hands and focus than replacing a battery and keeping any kind of dust-and waterproofness.

burnte 6mo ago

> Most people I know only get new phones because their battery will no longer get them through the day. Most people I know get a new phone when they can't take the cracked screen anymore, or when they completely lose the phone. Or because a pretty new one came out and they upgraded two years ago so it's "time". That's most people.