Really like the initiative by the EU to try and empower consumers again. I think generally the Switch and Steam Deck feature replaceable parts, but device manufacturers need to be held to a consumer-friendly standard.
Everything with a battery needs to have a replacable battery by 2027.
electric cars, phones, wireless mice, headphones etc etc etc
Some need to be “user replacable”
some needs to be replacable by a professional (electric car batteries, for example)
Isn’t pretty much everything replaceable in Steam Deck? Including official guides?
Yes, but ideally you can swap the battery without having to disassemble the entire thing.
You don’t disassemble the entire thing. You remove a few screws and remove the back cover. There are some plastic clips to be mindful of, but side from that, it’s not much harder than upgrading RAM in a laptop.
Compare this to something like an iPhone that is sealed shut with adhesive, and you have to peel off the fragile glass digitizer and screen off. Then remove every component, and the battery is bound to the back of the chassis with adhesive. And Apple wants to sue outlets that actually do this.
Totally different game.
I’m not saying it’s hard, and I’m not averse to taking apart my electronics. But “not much harder than upgrading RAM” in a laptop still doesn’t mean it’s a pleasant experience.
That’s not what the EU law says, it says it needs to be user replaceable, which means:
- it mustn’t void warranty
- it must be doable using common tools
I have a 2012 asus s46c laptop. Replacing its battery is as easy as sliding a nitendo switch joycon into/out of the console. Other laptops from around that time have similarly easy to remove batteries. There’s no lack of know-how and I doubt making it easily replaceable is “more expensive” during production. Any company that solders or glues them must do it out of pure spite against the customers.
I learned to crack open my laptop shell and replace the battery, which saved me 30 bucks when capacity was dead and I was getting a spicy pillow in the works.
My model had an easily searchable servicing guide, and I’d followed it to replace the thermal paste as well. That being said, I am looking for a future replacement as it no longer runs some indie games I have and there’s no way to upgrade its internals to newer standards. My dear laptop is future e-waste, as it pains me to say.
This industry needs to go back to focus on repairability. It would push for more sustainable part and product designs, which has become a big factor in purchase consideration lately.
Framework is doing some very cool stuff if you haven’t heard of them! Their upcoming 16 inch laptop will support modular, upgradeable graphics cards.
Thank you EU! Please come to America and slap the shit outta everyone.
Interestingly enough, I sometimes get into disagreements with my employer’s German branch because they want to do the bare minimum for standards while the US branch prefers to have internal standards that are more stringent
Do you guys have reasonable government there? In USA it’s not about people, it’s about the corporations and the charities they create to lauder money and get tax breaks on top of their foreign bank accounts.
Is there an example you can share? I’m curious to understand the differences you mean. Thank you