I'd like to have standard rechargeable batteries in products. Not necessarily "hot" swappable (though that would be nice for devices like cellphones). But at least available in standard forms, and replaceable by someone with a screwdriver in a few minutes.
I'm sick of "renting" batteries that are permanently installed in devices that would otherwise work for tens of years, but their batteries wear out after only a few years. I'm sick of paying inflated prices for batteries that have bizarre configurations and that go out of production.
I understand there are significant engineering challenges for some things (e.g., earbuds that are basically some electronics wrapped around a lithium cell). But there's no reason a set of headphones couldn't have a replaceable cell (I'm looking at you, Bose). I'm happy to have slightly heavier headphones and slightly thicker laptops and tablets if it increases the device lifetime and reduces e-waste.
Not gonna happen without a mandate, that's for sure. Gotta keep customers on the upgrade treadmill.
I agree. I have an older mbp with a glued battery and trying to get it replaced has been horrendous. Apple Store wants a lot of money and they then 'forgot' to call me when I went in with an appointment resulting in a bunch of wasted time, the authorized independent shops are super hobbled in that they have to keep the laptop for days and order a battery, and the online market for replacement batteries has been shady. It is plain and simple planned obsolescence and I really despise it. Edit: my personal laptop, a HP Elite X360, has a user-replaceable battery - I wish I could persuade my work to let me use/buy another for work stuff. Edit2: text fixes.
Most rechargeables seem to have standard cells, but they are welded together in a weird proprietary package. Technically though they have standard rechargeables.
Another issue is I don't want batteries in my keyboard, mouse, or electric razor. All these things I use next to another thing with a power source. It's pointless to have them be rechargeable. Yet it's becoming harder and harder to find keyboards, mice, and razors that are wired. Cordless mice in particular are a blight on society because the extra weight of the batteries aggravates carpal-tunnel and is a health hazard.
Have you looked at how much stuff is packed in those AirPods? There’s certainly not enough room for a screwable cap and a consumer-safe lithium battery, while retaining rigidity and weatherproofing.
Bedsides, how many AirPods are likely to be dying from poor battery life compared to being lost, damaged or upgraded?
If this did happen, I suspect there would be more instances of people losing the battery cap, or throwing it away because of undiagnosed battery terminal faults, or of children dying because they swallowed the impossibly small pill shaped battery...
You could screw something on there. Just make the part that hangs outside your ear 2 mm thicker. It wouldn't be in your ear. Apple wants those things to fail, battery life to run out and not be replaceable. It's completely obvious.
How much are you willing to pay for such batteries?
For larger electronics that take double A batteries, this exists, but at a premium! These things are lithium-whatever and USB rechargable, but at $5 per, easy to dismiss. While dismissing them, consider where the "those don't count" retort is coming from. It's fair to point out that electronics have gotten small enough to the point that they don't fit AA batteries any more, but these batteries haven't taken over in situations where they are available, so even if they came in AAAA (quadruple-A size - like what's inside of a 9-volt) size that were usable in smaller electronics, I doubt the market would decide they are better.
Worse is better, and in this case, the iPhone, and everyone copying its permanently installed battery, is worse.
I'm happy to pay a reasonable amount to replace a failing rechargeable battery. If it's 20 or 30 bucks to get another three years out of a pair of wireless headphones, okay. I suspect that with standardized cells (perhaps a few dozen sizes? certainly more than the gamut of A/AA/AAA/C/D etc cells we currently have in the consumerverse, because device form factors vary widely) they would be cheaper.
But having to essentially defeat an end-user-hostile industrial design should be strongly discouraged.
> I'm sick of "renting" batteries that are permanently installed in devices that would otherwise work for tens of years, but their batteries wear out after only a few years.
Also alarming is all the Apple crap where the hard drive, that lasts at most 2 years, is impossible to replace without great risk to the device, special replacement gaskets, etc, and when you do it turns out the original had a proprietary temperature sensor that means your replacement dies in 6 months.
RAM welded to the motherboard on general purpose computers is another design horror that harms the environment and should be banned. All RAM should be upgradable on devices that cost more than $1000.
Also the era of cell phones without SD slots must end.
> Also alarming is all the Apple crap where the hard drive, that lasts at most 2 years
Source? I’ve never experienced this using even low quality hard drives. If you’re including SSDs, then between 15 to 20 Apple products over the past decade plus have not had an issue within 2 years.
This obviously depends a lot on usage. Rotational drives are sensitive to physical shocks (common for portable devices; people drop them), while SSDs have a limited number of writes. This basically makes them wear items which a well-designed device should make easy to replace -- much like the battery.
I'm sick of "renting" batteries that are permanently installed in devices that would otherwise work for tens of years, but their batteries wear out after only a few years. I'm sick of paying inflated prices for batteries that have bizarre configurations and that go out of production.
I understand there are significant engineering challenges for some things (e.g., earbuds that are basically some electronics wrapped around a lithium cell). But there's no reason a set of headphones couldn't have a replaceable cell (I'm looking at you, Bose). I'm happy to have slightly heavier headphones and slightly thicker laptops and tablets if it increases the device lifetime and reduces e-waste.
Not gonna happen without a mandate, that's for sure. Gotta keep customers on the upgrade treadmill.