Credit: Scott Scrivens / Android Authority
- European Parliament passed a change to a law that will force replaceable batteries on all gadgets, including smartphones.
- By law, phones in the EU by 2027 will need to have batteries you can replace with no tools, which means no adhesives.
- This could fundamentally change how smartphones are designed.
Way back in the day, most smartphones had batteries you could easily swap. You didn’t need tools or a heat gun, either: you could just pop off the back, take the battery out, put in a new one, and go on with your day. It was common to see people with a spare battery in their pockets. Nowadays, thanks to most smartphones being two chunks of glass glued to a metal frame, this is no longer possible.
However, European Parliament may have just brought those days back. In a sweeping new change to a previous law, MEPs voted 587 to nine to force all gadgets to have easily replaceable batteries. When we say “easily,” we mean it: MEPs say this should not require special tools, which means no adhesives.