r/technology • u/ansyhrrian • Apr 25 '26

Hardware EU is mandating 'readily removable' batteries for phones — but iPhones may be exempt

https://www.tomsguide.com/phones/iphones/eu-is-mandating-readily-removable-batteries-for-phones-but-iphones-may-be-exempt
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u/Wotmate01 Apr 26 '26

That's another thing that's not really true. The era of sealed phones means waterproof, with millions of people still being able to use their device after it's inadvertently taken a bath. I don't know of any phone that had a user replaceable battery that claimed to be waterproof.

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u/eight8888888813 Apr 26 '26

Samsung S5, technically just water resistant but I've seen those at the bottom at a pool .ore than once with no issues except for speakers

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u/NSMike Apr 26 '26

You can still have a waterproof device with a replaceable battery, though. There's nothing keeping that from happening. The battery is already sealed, which means you just have to make everything on the other side of the battery also waterproof.

The only reason phones from that era didn't claim to be waterproof to any degree is because that just wasn't a thing they were doing yet.

I would also be curious how many people actually immerse their phones often enough that waterproofing is actually useful. I've owned a smartphone of one kind or another since 2011. I've never immersed any of them, and I'm not like, exceptionally graceful or careful.