Why don't E-readers have a Replaceable Battery

[PeterT]

I wonder if there are also legal requirements related to the shipping of lithium ion batteries and devices that contain them

[Deskisamess]

Couldn't the need for more real time tech support have something to do with it?

Thinner devices mean more fragility, add water resistant seals, and getting devices apart becomes more difficult without the proper tools. Then getting them back together without damaging tiny connections, wires, and circuit boards.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by PeterT

I wonder if there are also legal requirements related to the shipping of lithium ion batteries and devices that contain them

The first time they put restrictions on Lithium Batteries you could only ship a maximum of 11 batteries by air. then they changed the regulations and mandated that all Lithium batteries not in a product have to be shipped ground in the United States.
Apache

[Barbara1955]

I purchased my cell phone with Easy to change Battery.... after the mess of paying some one to change the battery in my Amazon Phone.
I agree Ereaders & Tablets Should have easy to change batteries!

[leebase]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

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

First? Probably not. But when Apple does something...the industry tends to follow even if it's something unpopular with users.

But - as in all things - Apple had a reason for doing so. Better water proofing, thinner, lighter devices....and batteries typically last longer than the lifetime use of the first buyer.

With phone ownership lasting longer...that final reason is going to lead to more people getting their battery replace. Just not done by themselves but at a repair store.

[leebase]

Another thought....it would not be enough to merely have the ability to change the battery. One must have a supply of batteries to buy. The batteries are probably not standardized, and with small sales and rare need to change batteries....their might not be enough of a market to support actually being able to buy batteries.

To wit....my car's "key fob" needs a new battery. But I'm sure there will be one at my local Walgreens.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by leebase

First? Probably not. But when Apple does something...the industry tends to follow even if it's something unpopular with users.

But - as in all things - Apple had a reason for doing so. Better water proofing, thinner, lighter devices....and batteries typically last longer than the lifetime use of the first buyer.

With phone ownership lasting longer...that final reason is going to lead to more people getting their battery replace. Just not done by themselves but at a repair store.

Water proofing? Back then, there was no waterproof iPhone. Thinner? hardly. It was the iPhone that was the first cell phone to come without a user replaceable battery.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Water proofing? Back then, there was no waterproof iPhone. Thinner? hardly. It was the iPhone that was the first cell phone to come without a user replaceable battery.

Oh sorry. Apple did it as a user hostile act...because F*ck Users!

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by leebase

Another thought....it would not be enough to merely have the ability to change the battery. One must have a supply of batteries to buy. The batteries are probably not standardized, and with small sales and rare need to change batteries....their might not be enough of a market to support actually being able to buy batteries.

To wit....my car's "key fob" needs a new battery. But I'm sure there will be one at my local Walgreens.

Lithium polymer batteries tend to have odd shapes to fit around the bulkier components and maintain thinness. Some gadgets actually split their batteries into two parts. Non standard all the way.

[BobC]

Some of them used to - I have a couple of Bebook (Hanlin V3) Ereaders that have replaceable batteries, simple to change and they even supplied a screwdriver to open the battery compartment.

And the battery they use is the almost ubiquitous Nokia BL5C cellphone battery.

The units are a little thicker than present day Ereaders but not all that bulky. So it can be done - just needs to overcome the idea that with tech products you need to "upgrade" every year.

BobC

[leebase]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Lithium polymer batteries tend to have odd shapes to fit around the bulkier components and maintain thinness. Some gadgets actually split their batteries into two parts. Non standard all the way.

Yep. The first iPhone was a miracle. It was truly a leap into "Macintosh in your pocket".

It pales in comparison to today's state of the art....but no phone prior had to do the computing that the iPhone was accomplishing.

But COULD Apple have designed a replaceable battery? Of course. The phone would have needed to be thicker. The batter would need it's own case/shell that a non-user serviceable batter does not need. It would take more space in the phone for the battery, in addition to the battery now being larger. Then there's building in the door/hinge that enables you to get access to the battery.

And all of the iPhone class phones have followed suit....because they had the same engineering challenges that led Apple to making the choice in the first place.

[Deskisamess]

So it can be done - just needs to overcome the idea that with tech products you need to "upgrade" every year.

Some of us have happily been using the same devices for many years. My husband and mom are using 2nd gen Paperwhites from 2013. They each still get about 20 hours of battery life. The Kindle 2 I recently traded in still worked for a day's with of reading, and I bought it 10 years ago this month.

We have an iPhone 6 from 2014, and a 7+ From 2016. Neither of them have serious battery issues, they easily last all day, a couple of days if not being used.

We have an iPhone 4s from 2011 that still has a battery life of 6 hours or so...depending on the game app being used.

With that kind of battery life, I personally don't see the need for user replaceable batteries.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

With that kind of battery life, I personally don't see the need for user replaceable batteries.

Exactly.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by leebase

Yep. The first iPhone was a miracle. It was truly a leap into "Macintosh in your pocket".

It pales in comparison to today's state of the art....but no phone prior had to do the computing that the iPhone was accomplishing.

But COULD Apple have designed a replaceable battery? Of course. The phone would have needed to be thicker. The batter would need it's own case/shell that a non-user serviceable batter does not need. It would take more space in the phone for the battery, in addition to the battery now being larger. Then there's building in the door/hinge that enables you to get access to the battery.

And all of the iPhone class phones have followed suit....because they had the same engineering challenges that led Apple to making the choice in the first place.

The alternative is to lengthen the phone and add a "chin" to hold a battery.
It would even be a ergonomic and provide a surface for off-screen buttons.
With vertically folding phones coming back we may see something like that since the folded phones will be thicker.

For ereaders the choice is to add a thick spine to hold the battery.
Similar but thicker than the Kindle Oasis.
Quite doable and as a bonus, more grippable.

It's doable but not fashionable.
Any not enough people care.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

We have an iPhone 6 from 2014, and a 7+ From 2016. Neither of them have serious battery issues, they easily last all day, a couple of days if not being used.

We have an iPhone 4s from 2011 that still has a battery life of 6 hours or so...depending on the game app being used.

With that kind of battery life, I personally don't see the need for user replaceable batteries.

I had to charge my iPhone 6 twice a day prior to trading it in after two years of use. That's even with very little use. Battery has degraded to 50-60% at that point, I think.

Sadly, reception in my area is poor so the antennas have to work extra hard which drains the battery. My iPhone 7 is almost in a similar state now but I think thanks to the low-power cores, it lasted longer (3 years old). I don't like the big, notched iPhones so I'm hoping rumors of the iPhone SE2 pan out.

On e-ink readers, even with degraded battery (PW2 2013 and PW3 2015), I usually still get around a week's worth of battery life reading and several weeks on standby so it's just never been an issue.