EU might bring back removable batteries as mandatory

After mandating the use of a USB-C connector on the vast majority of electronic devices sold in the EU from 2024 onwards, the European Commission is considering imposing yet another very important change on manufacturers.

In fact, EU members have reached a preliminary agreement to bring back removable batteries in electronic devices so that users can easily replace them themselves when the time comes to replace them. This agreement concerns many types of batteries and not only for electronic devices, as they refer to everything from smartphones and laptops to electric skates, cars and factory batteries.

If the pact is turned into law and approved by EU member states, manufacturers will have three and a half years to come up with new device designs that will allow battery replacement in the way we used to know from mobile phones before from 10-20 years.

The truth is that the smartphone industry will be significantly affected, because manufacturers have made huge investments in research and design in order to integrate as large batteries as possible inside the devices and at the same time ensure low weight and thickness, while at the same time taking care of the proper hardware cooling. Also, it will be quite difficult to offer a removable battery in the rising category of foldables.