[redxdev]

The reasoning is that the internal design of devices like phones/tablets/etc cannot take self-repair into account when the priorities of most manufacturers these days are to make them small and light (not to mention things like water resistance which also poses design problems). Focusing on user-replaceability makes the design process much harder with these restrictions.

Personally I doubt that's the _only_ reason things have gone in this direction, but it's certainly one of them.

[grawprog]

>most manufacturers these days are to make them small and light

I bought pretty much the smallest phone with decent specs I could find when I bought my last phone. Most of the new flagship phones were huge. Like things that would not fit in my jeans pocket with my wallet. None had a replaceable battery. Yet, i've had plenty of small, light, sturdy, water resistant phones with replaceable batteries.

I really have a hard time believing that argument i'm sorry. The only real reason I can see not to allow replaceable batteries is to increase profit for manufacturers. Same with every other 'feature' i've seen marketed to people with the same excuse.

It's nonsense. There's alway a profit motive behind things and the bottom line is...

The less modular consumer devices are, the more restricted our abilities to repair, modify and use our devices become, the less user friendly they become. The only ones benefiting from removing modularity, repairability and turning devices into black boxes without standardized parts requiring either replacement of the entire device or specialized repair services are the manufacturers period.

It's not consumer friendly. Anything else is marketing bullshit to make people accept less control over their devices and more profit for device makers.

There's zero legitimate consumer friendly reason not to standardize things and allow easy repair of devices, including replacing batteries, again a long standard feature in consumer electronics.

Just because it takes a couple years for batteries to die now, doesn't mean they don't die and need to eventually be replaced like old alkaline batteries. The time scale doesn't change the fact that eventually, yes they do need to be replaced, like any other batteries in battery powered devices.

[m-ee]

The manufacturers are benefiting, but’s its reductive to say the benefit is solely keeping the walled garden. I work in consumer electronics (but not phones). Here’s a breakdown of your stakeholders when you’re going through the design

-ID, who have a particular vision of what the device should look and feel like. They probably want things thin

-Manufacturing/automation, who wants something production line friendly. They’ll probably be angry if you replace a stamped adhesive sheet with 6 screws

-You and your manager, who want you to keep COGS as low as possible

-The reliability team, who will raise a fuss if you keep failing your drop tests and water/salt spray ingress tests

-HW compliance, who aside from ROHS FCC certs are mostly concerned with battery safety

-Whoever is keeper of the PRD (PM, lead engineer). This is where concerns about user friendliness of the assembly will show up

Given all the other things you need to juggle, and how many of them can be solved with judicious use of adhesives, the line item about user replaceable batteries is going to drop off very quickly at most companies. You can argue that this PRD doesn’t capture your needs, or that incentives are misaligned, and that’s fair. What you’re looking for is a company with industrial designers and product managers that deeply care about repairability and there aren’t many. But the status quo isn’t a nefarious plot, they’re just prioritizing other consumer and company needs over this one particular consumer need.

[grawprog]

>all the corporate structure and every middle man

>over this one particular consumer need.

Sorry, i'm glad the needs of everyone trying to make money off me and everyone adding to the worth of their shares comes before the consumers you're squeezing every fucking penny out of.

>More corporate marketing bullshit

Yes...things looking sleek and shiny as opposed to functional and long lasting is exactly what marketers tell consumers they want so they waste more money lining shareholders' pockets.

[nemothekid]

>before the consumers you're squeezing every fucking penny out of

No one, except for Apple and Samsung, is making any meaningful margin on consumer handsets. Many people would prefer a cheaper device vs a replaceable battery.

[grawprog]

>Many people would prefer a cheaper device vs a replaceable battery.

Yet, my new phone without a replaceable battery cost more than my last phone with one.

[nemothekid]

Did your new phone have the exact same specs and dimensions? Or is this a worthless observation without a control variable?

[samatman]

I have a cell phone on my wrist.

It's about 40x40x10mm, and I can dive wearing it, as long as I don't get too crazy.

Here's the trick: write the legislation, before this object is invented, which allows it to exist, while still mandating that cell phones have replaceable batteries.

Can't? Great. Let's not make laws like this.

[ensiferum]

Diving computers definitely have replaceable batteries. And they exist.