This article smacks of the pot calling the kettle black. Samsung weathered the Note 7 debacle and Apple will weather this battery kerfuffle. Neither the fanboys nor the haters will be changing their attitudes anytime soon. How about trying to educate people as to the dark side of Lithium Ion battery technology.
While I agree with pretty much what you said, there are few other points to consider in the big picture:
1. Apple executive while justifying "non-removable" batteries 10 years back said that "Most of the people are not going to replace their batteries in iPhones like iPods". This has certainly proven to be wrong and misplaced.
2. Many knowledgeable people in this forum talks about "Batteries being consumables", which is fine but do NOT talk about a certain design decision making it "non-user removable" which contributes to all the troubles. If it is a commodity, why shouldn't ALL smartphone OEMs (please note that I am talking about ALL OEMS, not just Apple) give the control of this consumable item to end-users instead of keeping it to themselves (causing both ripping off in the financial sense, trouble and inconvenience in the operational sense)?
3. Another design decision which leads to trouble with batteries is "SIZE" of the battery - Most of the "modern" flagships (Again, not just Apple iPhones, but all flagship phones) have small battery capacity than what is typically needed for average customers to get through a day usage, mandating charging the battery more than once every day, which leads to quicker drain of the battery, which necessitates replacing of the battery in a shorter timespan (within 1 to 1.5 years instead of 2-3 years). Is thinness of a phone that important to the user-experience than an adequately sized battery in a phone?
While people who do not understand technology needs to be educated, ALL smartphone manufacturers are working against the interests of the customers in reality w.r.t. batteries (be it size or user-replaceable or making OEM batteries available to end-users at a reasonable cost). Good to see that Karma is hitting them back in the same aspect.
Thinness, weight, having a weather sealed more reliable phone are all important and something that would have an impact on the phone user every single day, so your basically dismantlement your whole argument. You got it backward. It's absolutely the idiot user who wants both to have all those things and a magical battery.
The only "karma" is that the phone makers basically are giving the user exactly what they want and because people were replacing their phone more often in the past, these idiots user have kind of become divorced from actually having to replace that battery. Now, people are keeping their phones longer while using it more intensely and they've just been put face to face with the reality of batteries.
Getting your battery replaced, even for $80 (you could actually do it for $30-50 elsewhere) is something completely normal that people will just get used to doing once again if they want to keep their powerhouse light phone.
This article smacks of the pot calling the kettle black. Samsung weathered the Note 7 debacle and Apple will weather this battery kerfuffle. Neither the fanboys nor the haters will be changing their attitudes anytime soon. How about trying to educate people as to the dark side of Lithium Ion battery technology.
While I agree with pretty much what you said, there are few other points to consider in the big picture:
1. Apple executive while justifying "non-removable" batteries 10 years back said that "Most of the people are not going to replace their batteries in iPhones like iPods". This has certainly proven to be wrong and misplaced.
2. Many knowledgeable people in this forum talks about "Batteries being consumables", which is fine but do NOT talk about a certain design decision making it "non-user removable" which contributes to all the troubles. If it is a commodity, why shouldn't ALL smartphone OEMs (please note that I am talking about ALL OEMS, not just Apple) give the control of this consumable item to end-users instead of keeping it to themselves (causing both ripping off in the financial sense, trouble and inconvenience in the operational sense)?
3. Another design decision which leads to trouble with batteries is "SIZE" of the battery - Most of the "modern" flagships (Again, not just Apple iPhones, but all flagship phones) have small battery capacity than what is typically needed for average customers to get through a day usage, mandating charging the battery more than once every day, which leads to quicker drain of the battery, which necessitates replacing of the battery in a shorter timespan (within 1 to 1.5 years instead of 2-3 years). Is thinness of a phone that important to the user-experience than an adequately sized battery in a phone?
While people who do not understand technology needs to be educated, ALL smartphone manufacturers are working against the interests of the customers in reality w.r.t. batteries (be it size or user-replaceable or making OEM batteries available to end-users at a reasonable cost). Good to see that Karma is hitting them back in the same aspect.
Thinness, weight, having a weather sealed more reliable phone are all important and something that would have an impact on the phone user every single day, so your basically dismantlement your whole argument. You got it backward. It's absolutely the idiot user who wants both to have all those things and a magical battery.
The only "karma" is that the phone makers basically are giving the user exactly what they want and because people were replacing their phone more often in the past, these idiots user have kind of become divorced from actually having to replace that battery. Now, people are keeping their phones longer while using it more intensely and they've just been put face to face with the reality of batteries.
Getting your battery replaced, even for $80 (you could actually do it for $30-50 elsewhere) is something completely normal that people will just get used to doing once again if they want to keep their powerhouse light phone.
The extra bulk required for a removable battery. The safe disposal of a removable battery. People buying the cheapest battery they can find and setting fire to their cars.
Though if other manufacturers adopt it then there’ll be plenty of alternatives if a removable battery is the top of your wish list.
This article smacks of the pot calling the kettle black. Samsung weathered the Note 7 debacle and Apple will weather this battery kerfuffle. Neither the fanboys nor the haters will be changing their attitudes anytime soon. How about trying to educate people as to the dark side of Lithium Ion battery technology.
While I agree with pretty much what you said, there are few other points to consider in the big picture:
1. Apple executive while justifying "non-removable" batteries 10 years back said that "Most of the people are not going to replace their batteries in iPhones like iPods". This has certainly proven to be wrong and misplaced.
2. Many knowledgeable people in this forum talks about "Batteries being consumables", which is fine but do NOT talk about a certain design decision making it "non-user removable" which contributes to all the troubles. If it is a commodity, why shouldn't ALL smartphone OEMs (please note that I am talking about ALL OEMS, not just Apple) give the control of this consumable item to end-users instead of keeping it to themselves (causing both ripping off in the financial sense, trouble and inconvenience in the operational sense)?
3. Another design decision which leads to trouble with batteries is "SIZE" of the battery - Most of the "modern" flagships (Again, not just Apple iPhones, but all flagship phones) have small battery capacity than what is typically needed for average customers to get through a day usage, mandating charging the battery more than once every day, which leads to quicker drain of the battery, which necessitates replacing of the battery in a shorter timespan (within 1 to 1.5 years instead of 2-3 years). Is thinness of a phone that important to the user-experience than an adequately sized battery in a phone?
While people who do not understand technology needs to be educated, ALL smartphone manufacturers are working against the interests of the customers in reality w.r.t. batteries (be it size or user-replaceable or making OEM batteries available to end-users at a reasonable cost). Good to see that Karma is hitting them back in the same aspect.
Thinness, weight, having a weather sealed more reliable phone are all important and something that would have an impact on the phone user every single day, so your basically dismantlement your whole argument. You got it backward. It's absolutely the idiot user who wants both to have all those things and a magical battery.
The only "karma" is that the phone makers basically are giving the user exactly what they want and because people were replacing their phone more often in the past, these idiots user have kind of become divorced from actually having to replace that battery. Now, people are keeping their phones longer while using it more intensely and they've just been put face to face with the reality of batteries.
Getting your battery replaced, even for $80 (you could actually do it for $30-50 elsewhere) is something completely normal that people will just get used to doing once again if they want to keep their powerhouse light phone.
The extra bulk required for a removable battery. The safe disposal of a removable battery. People buying the cheapest battery they can find and setting fire to their cars.
Though if other manufacturers adopt it then there’ll be plenty of alternatives if a removable battery is the top of your wish list.
There will be plenty of alternatives if a removable battery is the top of your wish list - Actually almost all smartphone OEMs have moved to non-user replaceable batteries. LG was alone providing removable batteries in their phones until 2016, but it did not help them much in selling the phones. And they have also moved to non-user removable batteries last year. Not that it helped them either, but the trend is here to stay. I have to admit - I am in a very small of minority of people who ask for user-removable batteries in the phones. I don't see this changing anytime soon, if ever.
This article smacks of the pot calling the kettle black. Samsung weathered the Note 7 debacle and Apple will weather this battery kerfuffle. Neither the fanboys nor the haters will be changing their attitudes anytime soon. How about trying to educate people as to the dark side of Lithium Ion battery technology.
While I agree with pretty much what you said, there are few other points to consider in the big picture:
1. Apple executive while justifying "non-removable" batteries 10 years back said that "Most of the people are not going to replace their batteries in iPhones like iPods". This has certainly proven to be wrong and misplaced.
2. Many knowledgeable people in this forum talks about "Batteries being consumables", which is fine but do NOT talk about a certain design decision making it "non-user removable" which contributes to all the troubles. If it is a commodity, why shouldn't ALL smartphone OEMs (please note that I am talking about ALL OEMS, not just Apple) give the control of this consumable item to end-users instead of keeping it to themselves (causing both ripping off in the financial sense, trouble and inconvenience in the operational sense)?
3. Another design decision which leads to trouble with batteries is "SIZE" of the battery - Most of the "modern" flagships (Again, not just Apple iPhones, but all flagship phones) have small battery capacity than what is typically needed for average customers to get through a day usage, mandating charging the battery more than once every day, which leads to quicker drain of the battery, which necessitates replacing of the battery in a shorter timespan (within 1 to 1.5 years instead of 2-3 years). Is thinness of a phone that important to the user-experience than an adequately sized battery in a phone?
While people who do not understand technology needs to be educated, ALL smartphone manufacturers are working against the interests of the customers in reality w.r.t. batteries (be it size or user-replaceable or making OEM batteries available to end-users at a reasonable cost). Good to see that Karma is hitting them back in the same aspect.
Thinness, weight, having a weather sealed more reliable phone are all important and something that would have an impact on the phone user every single day, so your basically dismantlement your whole argument. You got it backward. It's absolutely the idiot user who wants both to have all those things and a magical battery.
The only "karma" is that the phone makers basically are giving the user exactly what they want and because people were replacing their phone more often in the past, these idiots user have kind of become divorced from actually having to replace that battery. Now, people are keeping their phones longer while using it more intensely and they've just been put face to face with the reality of batteries.
Getting your battery replaced, even for $80 (you could actually do it for $30-50 elsewhere) is something completely normal that people will just get used to doing once again if they want to keep their powerhouse light phone.
The extra bulk required for a removable battery. The safe disposal of a removable battery. People buying the cheapest battery they can find and setting fire to their cars.
Though if other manufacturers adopt it then there’ll be plenty of alternatives if a removable battery is the top of your wish list.
Where there's a will there's a way.
Sometimes, where there isn't a will, it can be imposed or arm twisted. WEEE and RoHS are examples of imposing, USB charging for handsets is an example of arm twisting. In both cases by the EU and to great effect.
Safe disposal isn't an issue in itself in the EU. It doesn't involve any after sale charges for the end user and by this stage everyone knows the multiple options open to them. In the rest of the developed world the solutions vary but safe disposal is an option that exists.
Removable batteries mean slightly more size (I wouldn't call it bulk, though) but the issue of size itself is also a non-issue nowadays. The end result is not going to be a brick like the early handsets, and we went through a period with people carrying their handsets and chargers around with them all day to top up on the go. That is bulk. Then external batteries. All because companies were shaving mm off the batteries themselves in search of 'thin' and phones couldn't get through a normal day. Then more space was sacrificed for wireless charging. We got some back with the removal of the headphone jack. We lost some again (at least from one perspective) with bezeless phones. Swings and roundabouts we could easily adda few mm on and people wouldn't bay an eyelid.
It's all a matter of preference and balance but there are few real technical reasons that impede the inclusion of removable batteries.
Even the P8 had a P2i nano coating for splash proof protection which is fine for real world situations and that's a few years old now. When people say they absolutely had to eliminate removable batteries to achieve immersion resistance they have a point (to an extent) but I doubt they really thought the issue through. My guess is that far more people would actually benefit from having a removable battery than immersion protection because I'd say far less people find themselves in an immersion situation to start with.
Now, with P2i's new product, we'll have to see what manufacturers do with it in 2018. I'm not holding my breath, don't get me wrong but I would prefer at least some removable options, even though it's still a strictly personal preference.
Comments
The extra bulk required for a removable battery.
The safe disposal of a removable battery.
People buying the cheapest battery they can find and setting fire to their cars.
Though if other manufacturers adopt it then there’ll be plenty of alternatives if a removable battery is the top of your wish list.
There will be plenty of alternatives if a removable battery is the top of your wish list - Actually almost all smartphone OEMs have moved to non-user replaceable batteries. LG was alone providing removable batteries in their phones until 2016, but it did not help them much in selling the phones. And they have also moved to non-user removable batteries last year. Not that it helped them either, but the trend is here to stay. I have to admit - I am in a very small of minority of people who ask for user-removable batteries in the phones. I don't see this changing anytime soon, if ever.
Sometimes, where there isn't a will, it can be imposed or arm twisted. WEEE and RoHS are examples of imposing, USB charging for handsets is an example of arm twisting. In both cases by the EU and to great effect.
Safe disposal isn't an issue in itself in the EU. It doesn't involve any after sale charges for the end user and by this stage everyone knows the multiple options open to them. In the rest of the developed world the solutions vary but safe disposal is an option that exists.
Removable batteries mean slightly more size (I wouldn't call it bulk, though) but the issue of size itself is also a non-issue nowadays. The end result is not going to be a brick like the early handsets, and we went through a period with people carrying their handsets and chargers around with them all day to top up on the go. That is bulk. Then external batteries. All because companies were shaving mm off the batteries themselves in search of 'thin' and phones couldn't get through a normal day. Then more space was sacrificed for wireless charging. We got some back with the removal of the headphone jack. We lost some again (at least from one perspective) with bezeless phones. Swings and roundabouts we could easily adda few mm on and people wouldn't bay an eyelid.
It's all a matter of preference and balance but there are few real technical reasons that impede the inclusion of removable batteries.
Even the P8 had a P2i nano coating for splash proof protection which is fine for real world situations and that's a few years old now. When people say they absolutely had to eliminate removable batteries to achieve immersion resistance they have a point (to an extent) but I doubt they really thought the issue through. My guess is that far more people would actually benefit from having a removable battery than immersion protection because I'd say far less people find themselves in an immersion situation to start with.
Now, with P2i's new product, we'll have to see what manufacturers do with it in 2018. I'm not holding my breath, don't get me wrong but I would prefer at least some removable options, even though it's still a strictly personal preference.