It needs to go one of two ways, way beyond just a removable back cover. 1. Accessible is not enough. The battery needs to be removable - not soldered in or surface mounted. And the batteries need to meet universal standards and not be proprietary. That is, there needs to be just a small handful of standard size and shape, readily available, user replaceable batteries. or 2. The batteries need to be so reliable (eco-friendly would be nice too), and guaranteed to last for "the life of the phone" (10 years?) so users will never need to replace them before opting for a new phone. And should they fail before then, the replacement (parts and labor) will be free. The major obstacle to either solution is mentioned in that article - removable, replaceable batteries take up more space and add more weight. And, just like laptops, consumers keep demanding thinner and lighter. Clearly, sometimes, we consumers are our own worst enemies.
Why do you think so? I own old-school Casio watch and don't mind going for a battery change to a watchmaker every 2 years or so. If watchmaker could replace battery on the spot in 5 minutes then personally I don't think it is too much to ask.
Because that is a "IF". If a watchmaker could simply remove the cover, pop out the old battery and pop in a new, then anyone with good eyes, good lighting, steady hands and the necessary jewelers tools could do that. But that is rarely the case. More and more these days, the batteries are soldered in, and worse, sometimes surface mounted. And they are proprietary meaning it is unlikely the watchmaker has a replacement battery in his parts bin. And being proprietary, he could not even order a replacement from his normal battery supplier. It would have to come from the phone maker, or a 3rd party battery maker. And 3rd party batteries come with their own risks. Why do phone makers do that? Simple. It costs less. Connectors mean more parts - parts that need to be soldered in. And more parts take up more space and add additional weight. And consumers don't want that.
This thread is about one particular model of HMD phone. Replacement process isn’t much more complex or time consuming than what you described. Regarding battery - yeah, it would be great to standarize them. I understand that premium class phones may want to go with custom ones, but for lower price ranges I don't see that much of justification.
I understand the opening post is about a specific phone. But that phone is the exception to the rule - and the clearly the point roger and myself were making. And if you look at that battery, it has a connector on the end of its little ribbon cable leads. That connector (and its associated socket) take up extra space, add weight, and added a couple pennies to the cost of those parts, and a few more pennies to the production costs too. Those may seem like trivial things, but when multiplied by a million or two units, it adds up.
That's what I had in mind. But I don't have an issue with proprietary batteries, just as long as replacements are readily available. Obviously it benefits phone manufacturers greatly by having batteries that are not easily replaced. But on the other hand, when there is so much emphasis these days on environmental issues and reducing waste, it's a shame that there is no push to have user replaceable batteries available again, to reduce the waste when people replace their phones due to a dying battery, rather than just replacing the battery.
Sadly - that's been going on for a long time - well before mobile phones. Not sure who started it, but I would not be surprised if the credit (blame?) belongs to Norelco and their cordless shavers.
I once had a cell phone with a removable battery and I'd like to see that option come back since it saved money. There is the matter of water resistance though. I've not had a problem with leaving my phone out in the rain or dropping it in the bath, but I can see how meeting a spec for water resistance is desirable as some people need it. Some other appliances need water resistance too, like shavers and electric toothbrushes, as they are used around water regularly. Batteries should still be replaceable though, even if it means taking the device to a repair shop, and I feel it's unacceptable that some are not.
