Quote:
Originally Posted by luka
Two reasons I can see:
1. We have a race to make the phone thinner and thinner. Replaceable battery will make the phone fatter.
2. It cuts the profits. Why sell the battery for $20 if you can replace the battery for $100 (arbitrary figures).
3. Slow down the older phones in software to make people buy new models and blame it all on the bad batteries.
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1. Yes, the industry is way past the point of offering user-replaceable Li-ion batteries. To make them safe would mean making them comparatively huge. The batteries are still replaceable, though, as a standard service.
2. The battery replacement service used to cost US$79, it is now US$29. Holding my breath for the AU prices, since my sons both have iPhones 6. Not that they've run into any issues yet, but at that price I'll just do it as a matter of course.
3. This is essentially the accusation levelled in the various class action suits. I wonder how it will hold up, given the reputation of Apple devices for being long-lasting, as evidenced (among other things) by their way above average resale value, and their ongoing software support for old models – the 2013 iPhone 5S still runs the latest version of iOS.
Yes, something better than Li-ion would be nice and can't come soon enough. As for Apple, this won't arrive until 2019, from what I hear.