It had been in the works for a while, but now it has formally been adopted. From the article:
The regulation provides that by 2027 portable batteries incorporated into appliances should be removable and replaceable by the end-user, leaving sufficient time for operators to adapt the design of their products to this requirement.
Problem with legislation like this is it frequently doesn’t take into account that companies like Apple can be devious assholes. Every loop hole has to be anticipated and covered before it can be exploited.
Yeah I agree with this on principle, but as it is it basically means we will have USBC forever because nobody is going to take market risks on pushing a better standard. It works because USBC is good, but imagine if the EU did this kind of thing with the previous gen mini connector?
Same thing here. I prefer the form factor, ergonomics and long term waterproofing which comes with current trends. Yes I know it’s possible to get IP ratings with removable batteries, but those seals fail much more quickly than fully sealed designs, and they always fail at the worst time. I suspect will happen is that this will have the opposite impact, and we will generate a lot more water-damage e-waste again.
deleted by creator