Next will be memory. They will say everything you meed should be stored online for a subscription fee.
There are different categories of removable.
With my old Note, I had an extra battery that came with case/charger combination. If my battery on my phone died, I could swap the battery in 10 seconds.
It states that any battery should be removable and replaceable by the user. So this slap on tactic will only work if your device has no internal battery.
I also noticed this is for all batteries. Not just phones, but also cars etc.
EDIT: As any EU law there is a lot of nuance and exceptions. I dig a little further and found the following:
The regulation introduces requirements that say that portable batteries should be easily removable and replaceable by the end-user and LMT batteries and cells in LMT batteries should be easily removable and replaceable by an independent professional.
So what is LMT?
The regulation defines five battery categories depending on how the battery is used:
- Portable batteries
- Light means of transport (LMT) batteries
- Starting, lighting and ignition (SLI) batteries
- Industrial batteries
- Electric vehicle (EV) batteries
I couldn’t find any concrete wording for “easily removed and replaceable”. But I sure hope it means no more glue for the portable batteries.
Source: https://www.intertek.com/blog/2023/08-17-battery-regulation/
“Replaceable by user” has a lot of wiggle room. It could still be a 20-minute process that risks damaging other parts and requires specialized tools.
If phones are to keep their water resistance, they almost certainly won’t be tooless, and will involve swapping out gaskets. It’ll be something you can do to replace a failed battery, not a quick swap because you went camping for the weekend and threw an extra battery in the bag since there are no outlets.
Could you read and understand the information behind the link before replying with nonsense?
FYI: there were waterproof phones before replaceable batteries disappeared. Also the Fairphone for example IPS rated for resistant, so not perfect, but it’s possible.
“User replaceable” just means that they have to make it possible, not easy.
Usually legislation is intentionally vague like that, ultimately courts will decide what that really means in practice.
It will end up being just reasonable. Any person can have a reasonable expectation that they will be able to replace the battery with a reasonable amount of time and effort, with readily available tools, with a reasonable amount of guidance.
If you were a judge would you say that it’s reasonable to expect people to be able to replace soldered components on their phones?
None of that addresses his point that “removable by the user” is not clearly defined. I didn’t see any definition for it in the link you posted.
Yeah, Apples replacement kit requires like 11k deposit and comes in two 75 pound pelican cases.
What do you mean only if it has no internal battery? This will make it so they can’t fuse a battery in place and call it internal. It has to be removable.
That is what I meant?
That it is nice the op has a battery-case for their phone, but that it will not fly under the new law unless the phone has no internal battery.
You mean an internal battery in addition to a main removable one? Sorry if I’m being dense.
I agree. I used to carry a spare at all times as well. So nice to be able to swap as soon as you get close to empty. I’m hoping we’ll get back there eventually.
No. This law keeps being misquoted, and people are going to be disappointed if they go into 2027 thinking we’ll be able to pop out batteries like the good ol’ days.
It does not necessitate battery removal like that. Only that it not be too difficult to change out for a repair (i.e. stuff like gluing it in place with a strong glue, or necessitating removing the display before the battery). That’s still a good change, I’d be happy if it were something like removing 4 screws then unplugging, but it’s not the same as what everybody makes out.
It also doesn’t apply at all for batteries over a certain capacity, or so long as the battery retains 63% capacity or more (presumably this means throughout the warranty period, but I’m unable to find a timeframe for which this standard gets applied) from 2027, or 73% from 2030.
There’s also a 2 year grace period after the law comes into effect where it won’t really be applied.
No. This law keeps being misquoted, and people are going to be disappointed if they go into 2027 thinking we’ll be able to pop out batteries like the good ol’ days.
I know. While I didn’t read the full legal text, tech news sources are saying it needs to be replaceable by an independent third party or the customer themselves with regularly available tools. I’d love to have easy slide in/out batteries, but I know this is not that.
It also doesn’t apply at all for batteries over a certain capacity, or so long as the battery retains 63% capacity or more (presumably this means throughout the warranty period) from 2027, or 73% from 2030.
I didn’t know about this clause. That’s too bad. :(
They’ll take away volume control (SW/HW buttons) and replace with dynamically adjusting “magic volume” so that you can’t mute ads.
THEY TOOK MY SLIDE OUT QWERTY KEYBOARD!
They’re going to bring back an ABCDEF keyboard instead!
Bringing back the t9 typing perhaps?
I use Colemak, so I kinda welcome the on-screen keyboard, as the layouts can be switched.
Removed by mod
They removed my slide out keyboard, too.
I just want my physical keyboard back, damnit!
They now sell it as an addon in a phone case
Ew
That looks so wrong to me.
They should include a slide out controller now instead
how to reinvent the ninetendo DS in five easy steps.
More like Gameboy SP but yeah
RIP Sony Xperia play
That but with a joy stick
Fxtec still builds phones with slideout keyboards. And Unihertz embraces the old Blackberry form factor.
The IR blaster needs to come back. They were mostly on phones pre-smart device where they had super limited usage. With a smart device, they could practically do anything. I wanna use my phone as a universal remote, damn it.
I want a 0hysical.keyboadd too. Touch screen sucks.
I had it on my Xiaomi around 5 years ago, amazing stuff. Could turn on-off air conditioning anywhere, great party trick
0hysical.keyboadd
They were removed, not suppressed. No need to write in code like it’s spam for dick-pills. Though I would like my goddamn ¢@mεra bu#0n back.
They mistyped because they were typing on their phone. Lol.
Would someone do that? Just go on the internet and tell jokes?
Oh man, I wish I still had this. I miss the days when I could mess with a friend’s device and watch them lose their mind. Definitely a fun game as long as everyone else in the room knew it was a harmless prank.
I still have an S9 with a notification LED.
From my cold, dead hands.
still using the 3.5mm on my S8 every damn day
Same. I’ve used the 3.5mm port for my truck daily for the past 10 years. Don’t need it as much now that I got a new truck, but I still use it when I ride my motorcycle. Bluetooth earbuds just don’t fit under my helmet.
Bluetooth intercom with helmet speakers are a game changer!
Can also keep earplugs in, which is good to avoid worse tinnitus than what I already have…
Aye, super happy with my Cardo and plug combo!
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It’s not better, it’s more convenient. Bluetooth earbuds are basically not repairable and they’re more expensive than their wired counterparts if you want something decent. The call quality is also worse due to bluetooth’s limitations.
Both types of headphones have their pros and cons and both can coexist. Don’t be dumb, don’t defend companies taking away options for no good reason other than planned obsolesence.
The phones with a headphone jack also had Bluetooth support though.
This isn’t an either/or
I miss this so much. It is extra annoying cause my phone has a similar LED it uses for other things.
Maybe https://github.com/Chainfire/HoleyLight will be up your alley.
Wouldn’t those be warm hands? Pretty sure the S9 was the one that caught fire all the time? Or was that the S7?
Smartphone manufacturers, if you’re reading this:
I spent 6 hours on google to find a phone with a screen smaller than 6 inch. I did find none (except an old iPhone, but I want android), so I had to buy one 6 inch. It is too unwieldy. I am annoyed.
There is a serious market for people like me. Do not look away. Somebody will buy these phones.
Also, by the way, it’s not bad if the phones are a bit thicker.
I love it when uninformed troglodytes complain about a hole in the screen. They didn’t add a hold in the screen. The hole was already there. They just wrapped your screen around it for more screen. 😅
Do many people know that there is actually a patent for the idea of an advertisement that plays to a certain point… and then does not end, will not let you skip it, until you as the user, via a camera and microphone, can be verified to have assumed a pose, made a facial expression, and/or said a specific phrase?
The actual patent shows a smart tv ‘owner’ standing up and saying McDonalds! in order to like keep watching Netflix.
We quite literally have the tech and the legal framework for ‘Drink Verification Mountain Dew Can’ to actually be a thing.
The illustration of that patent practically a meme, many on Lemmy should know it.
Though it should be kept in mind there’s thousands of patents that were never actually applied, and this one was filled back in 2009.
We quite literally have the tech and the legal framework
Do patents necessarily have to follow the law?
Though it should be kept in mind there’s thousands of patents that were never actually applied, and this one was filled back in 2009.
This is genuinely a good thing, then. If you patent something and “accidentally” never use it, it prevents other companies from using it legally. Screw over advertisers and save the consumers from their terrible ideas by hoarding patents and working with a patent troll firm :)
Not really. Patests expire and then they can just read the specs in your idea. No reverse-engineering effort required.
Eh? Do patents necessarily have to follow the law?
…no? They are ideas.
They are also a legal construct to organize business uses and control of ideas around.
Hence a patent and the patent system are a legal framework.
Legal frameworks are often involved in things that later end up being determined to be illegal.
Large businesses usually like to set up some kind of comprehensive legal framework before they roll out a new product or feature.
Not saying they will. I am saying setting up a legal framework is usually groundwork before you do though.
The day I can’t find a phone that has an headphone jack is the day I go feral and become a hermit in the woods.
It’s the SD card for me. We are getting phones with 1tb now, so that will work. But with the phones that do offer it, you have to get the most expensive version for it. Meanwhile if they just give me an SD card slot, I can have that fixed myself. Just take the one out of my current phone and plop it in the new phone.
And 113GB used by system
If you want the rest of the specs to be decent, then that day is fast approaching or already here.
I had to jump from a phone that had about 5.5 of the features on that list to one with none of them (although I do like the 3 rear cameras) and I hate that I had to do that.
But I kept “Easily rootable” and that’s what really matters to me.
I hate the loss but just buy a bunch of USBC to headphone adapters, stick them on all your headphones/aux cables, and forget you don’t have a headphone jack on your phone.
Adapters are not a solution.
I don’t like it either but they are a solution.
You know what else they’ve taken from us? Actually unique designs for phones. When I look at modern day smartphones, for some reason they look like clones of each other. Where’s all the spunk that these manufacturers used to put in their devices?
Fuck you, minimalism. Ever since you’ve ruined my iPhone back in 2013, my life has never been the same.
This dude doesnt prison phones and it shows
There’s literally still dozens of phones and manufacturers that have unique everything. It’s just not your typical 1k dollar phone. Gotta look for smaller brands.
My IQ has officially gone down today. I shall now be punished by swimming in an ocean of downvotes.
I think the fun stuff is all Chinese which doesn’t get marketed in the US. Someone in this thread linked the Unihertz Tank which seems crazy fun.
It’s all fun and games until the Chinese government comes to take your data or whatever. It’s the one thing stopping me from getting the Chinese stuff.
Meh, the US already has everything, might as well even the playing field
Large battery yes, but non-replaceable just like the others.
taken from us? Actually unique designs for phones
It’s like they want to make everything the same but won’t commit to having identical form-factor so my battery case will fit the new phone.
Ironically Apple’s been the best in preserving another company’s hardware compatibility, which is two things they’d usually neither support (missing out on a hardware deal) or recognize (another company).
Ironically Apple’s been the best in preserving another company’s hardware compatibility,
What do you mean?
That is really ironic.
I miss the wild and crazy days of Nokia. My brother had the ngage, I even got this one feature phone where the dial pad flipped up and over the phone screen revealing a split qwerty fingerboard on either side of the screen (which then rotated to support typing in that form factor).
So many weird designs, some were complete flops, but others were really cool and should have caught on, but didn’t for some reason or another.
Those were the good ol days.
You can be minimalist and still innovative. I love my Nothingphone and the awesome Glyph interface on the back, wish more manufacturers would do something like that.
Unihertz has a similar device with the Luna, but the software isn’t great.
The Nothing company actually brought back the transparent design that was so trendy back in the 90s. I like that.
Gimme an L shaped phone.
Galaxy Z Flip?
Nokia Lumia may nog be shaped like an L, but it sure does have an L in its name. I’m not saying that it’s bad, I’m just saying that it didn’t perform well sales wise.
I dunno man, my phone folds in half. That’s pretty unique
It’s pretty cool, but that phone is pretty fragile as a result, not to mention it’s twice the price of your typical flagship phone, and I don’t know if things have improved to the point of actual usability yet, so… I’ll probably wait a few more years.
- My primary point was regarding uniqueness. It’s a unique design, for sure.
- “is pretty fragile” isn’t really something I think about for my phones; It’s not like I’m throwing them across the room or such - It doesn’t have to be a tank, just survive daily use (it does). The only real “fragility” thing that crosses my mind is that I avoid leaving it open when I sit it down and walk away from it… but I think about similar stuff with any phone. I don’t leave a regular phone sitting unattended on the couch, where it could be sat on for example. All of that said … The folding devices are more durable than you’d think.
- The price is a bit of a point of frustration for some, sure. But for anyone who can afford it, it’s rather moot in the context of uniqueness/usability.
As someone who has had a Galaxy Z Fold 4 for about 14 months, it has no scratches or blemishes on either screen - inner or outer. It’s definitely at the point of usability, and I can’t see myself being comfortable going back to a normal phone at this point.
Good for you.
spunk in my phone gizzards
I like the design of the PearPhone. That surely has a lot of spunk.
How extra do you need your phone to be?
Idk, maybe take some cues from Nokia during the Windows Phone days, or Samsung during the days of the “edge” phones. Or even the curved metal back that HTC phones had. Even iPhones had cool designs, especially the iPhone 4 (the one I had by the time iOS 7 came out).
Give me a picture of a recent release of a smartphone without telling me who made it, and chances are if it’s not an iPhone, I wouldn’t be able to guess who made it.
I just want a physical keyboard again
Google Clicks case
I really miss the slide ones that you had to turn your phone. But this case is dope I never heard of it. Thanks
Same
It’s not “minimalism” it’s a direct response to what the market demands. Sorry, but no one gives a shit what you individually want from a phone that costs billions to develop and manufacture.
Sucks to be me.
Physical keyboard? Notification LED?
I miss the LED for sure. How much money could that have possibly saved?
For the physical part? A couple cents per phone sold.
But it’s also one less part for for the circuit board designers to accomodate in their ever-shrinking layouts, one less part to inventory, track, and warehouse, one less behavior to verify by Q&A, one less SW and/or HDL code module to maintain, etc etc etc. When you look at the entire design, verification, and manufacturing process, multiplied by millions of units, every part and behavior carries a cost.
There are plenty of valid reasons to crap on the major phone manufacturers, especially when they take away features and capabilities we like. But “it’s just one small part” usually isn’t one of them.
The notification LED is the only feature I truly miss
OLED displays have obsoleted notification LEDs. And phones with physical keyboards don’t sell.
OLED displays certainly could, but there is no baked it app that wakes up the screen only if you have a message, blink in different colors or frequencies depending on the message and use the low power always on display api.
Yeah, you can glance at your always on display and make out the little symbol. But that’s not an adequate replacement to the notification LED. If I had to guess, it was removed to drive up engagement with your phone.
No they don’t.
Also, keyboard phones don’t sell because they don’t make good ones.
I wouldn’t call the “always on display” some kind of innovative technology that makes notification LEDs obsolete… AOD is a battery draining complement to notification LEDs, not a replacement – we just don’t have the latter anymore because of corporate greed and consumer mentalities :/
There are notification apps to replicate the feature. A single pixel lighting on an OLED screen uses no more energy than a physically separate led. The CPU isn’t sleeping to update the notification led either way.
Appreciate the response. Figured this was “easily” do-able, but I honestly remember not being able to find anything pre-implemented for this a couple years ago when I last checked. Maybe my search, then, idk… Anyways, yeah, physically separate LED do sound a lot more obsolete with that in mind
Controversial: it was much easier and safer to text while driving with a physical keyboard. You could type with one hand, hold the steering wheel with the other, all while still looking at the road because you could feel where the buttons were.
I’d still prefer you didn’t do that
Ditto lol
Back in the flip phone days that raised 5 let me text behind my back in class. I mean, I have no need for that now but it was pretty fucking sweet back then.
My car has T9 input which is much better than a full touchscreen keyboard, especially since I have a ton of practice from the old Nokia days
Controversial: Drinking while driving was easier and safer with a beer helmet since you can just sip directly from the straw instead of looking down to pick up the can.
Don’t forget the RGB notification led!
I switched to Chinese brand phones, they still have all this and they’re dirt cheap, currently rocking an Ulephone power armor 18t, which also has a flir infrared camera and a microscope for some reason. No I’m not joking, they work surprisingly well and have come in handy more than I thought they would!
This goddamn camera built into my screen instead of above the screen pisses me off so fucking much. So often I have to move a picture down to read the top of it.
IT’S BLOCKING MY MEMES GOD FUCKING DAMMIT MY MEMES
