Why don't E-readers have a Replaceable Battery

[Dr. Drib]

The Wal-Mart thread got me started.

I mean RIGHT NOW, why don't e-readers have replaceable batteries in the same sense that cell phones have them?

Huh? What's up with that?

[Sirtel]

Many cellphones don't have them either, nowadays.

[tourneur]

Probably because there's no significant demand for it. Charges last very long compared to other electronic devices, USB charging is ubiquitous and most users probably won't even wear out their battery (before having bought a new ereader).

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

The Wal-Mart thread got me started.

I mean RIGHT NOW, why don't e-readers have replaceable batteries in the same sense that cell phones have them?

Huh? What's up with that?

Actually, Readers have replaceable batteries just like smartphones. Meaning they don't. The only difference is that I can take my iPhone in to get the battery changed. I've had my iPhone battery replaced once.

When my H2O eventually needs a new battery, I'll buy a new Reader as it will be time to get one. It's 5 years old and doing well still.

[Dr. Drib]

I forgot about iPhones.

I have a Samsung and it just pops out. In fact, I should probably buy a new battery within the next week.

[cromag]

Mine does! I still do most of my reading on a JetBook Lite. Runs on four AA batteries. You can still find one every now and then at Goodwill.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by cromag

Mine does! I still do most of my reading on a JetBook Lite. Runs on four AA batteries. You can still find one every now and then at Goodwill.

I bought something like that, too. It was some kind of reflective technology, and not eInk.

I also bought something else (an Astak something-or-other) that had a battery in it. It was a 5-inch screen. I gave that to my nephew 6-7 years ago.

[barryem]

I think everything should have replaceable batteries. It oughta' be a law!

More and more I've been reading on a phone, though not because of the battery, although it is replaceable. Not too long ago I bought a second phone just for reading and it's worked out so well I bought a spare on Black Friday. It's a Galaxy J3 and they're only $35 on Amazon at the moment. I can swap out the battery easily. It has an excellent screen as well as an excellent speaker if I listen to an audiobook or an OTR show. I can put a micro SD card in it up to 400 gig although I have a smaller one in it. And it fits comfortably in my shirt pocket. It's great for reading.

I don't have service on it but I have Wifi so that's no problem. And both Moon+ and the Kindle app sync nicely so I can read on the J3 and still get all day battery life on my S5.

Barry

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I forgot about iPhones.

I have a Samsung and it just pops out. In fact, I should probably buy a new battery within the next week.

Not only iPhones. The last two Android phones I've had didn't have replaceable batteries either.

I don't really care. By the time the battery of any of my devices is even close to giving up the ghost, I've already replaced the device several times over. It also helps not to buy the cheapest devices. The cheaper the device, the poorer the battery generally is. Eink readers might be an exception to that rule.

My previous smartphone was heavily used for 5 years and the battery was still pretty good. It was a midrange phone.

[fjtorres]

Sometime soon the whole point will become moot.
Human lifetime batteries are actually possible and on the horizon for commercial use.
First intended use is electric cars.

https://www.insider.com/million-mile...fetime-2019-11

Other uses will spin off once volume manufacturing is fully developed.

The key difference from current Lithium Ion tech is the ridiculous number of recharge cycles: hundreds of times better than the current 2000-4000 cycles. As is, assuming an ereader gets recharged once a week, you're looking at 40-80 years worth of battery life.

The eInk screen will die long before that.

[Sarmat89]

E-readers are too delicate devices to allow user to rummage inside them.

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I forgot about iPhones.

I have a Samsung and it just pops out. In fact, I should probably buy a new battery within the next week.

Almost all newer Android phones, Samsungs, LGs, Motorolas, Nexuses/Pixels, etc. also have non-replaceable batteries. I say "almost" because there might be some off brand lower-priced one that I'm unaware of that offers a removable battery.

There's definitely no current higher end cell phone with a replaceable battery. The last Samsung Galaxy S-series phone with a replaceable battery was the S4/Note 4. We're up to S10/Note 10, with S11 coming soon. That's six years since a replaceable battery, which is pretty typical for the the last time all manufacturers sold a flagship phone with a removable battery. There was never a Google phone with a replaceable battery.

Until the Kindle Oasis 2, replacing an e-reader's battery has been a generally easier task than replacing one in a cellphone. Probably a side effect of having more room for less componentry.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by jj2me

There's definitely no current higher end cell phone with a replaceable battery. The last Samsung Galaxy S-series phone with a replaceable battery was the S4/Note 4.

Not quite. The Galaxy S5 did too. The switch to non-removable batteries in the S6 was one of the reasons I switched to the LG V series, but they too eventually followed the trend.

[JSWolf]

Wasn't it Apple that first came out with non-user replacable batteries inside the iPhone?

[jj2me]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

Not quite. The Galaxy S5 did too. The switch to non-removable batteries in the S6 was one of the reasons I switched to the LG V series, but they too eventually followed the trend.

Thanks for the correction. I was thinking about the Note 5's sealed battery, but that "5-series" Galaxy came out later than the S5, and was more like the S6 (was almost identical to the S6 Edge+).