The Battery You Almost Got to Replace Yourself

In 2020, the European Commission proposed a regulation that would have legally required every smartphone battery to be user-replaceable — no tools, no service center, just you and a spare battery. The tech industry almost had no way out.

Then came the lobbying. Between 2021 and 2023, industry groups rewrote Article 11 of the proposal into a triple-exemption clause: if your phone retains ≥83% battery capacity at 500 charge cycles and ≥80% at 1,000 cycles and is rated IP67 water-resistant, the sealed battery stays legal. Every flagship from Apple and Samsung qualifies. The mandate survived on paper; the spirit of it didn't.