EU Won't Require User-Replaceable Batteries for Wearables (thurrott.com)
- Reference: 0184475124
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/07/16/0436218/eu-wont-require-user-replaceable-batteries-for-wearables
- Source link: https://www.thurrott.com/hardware/338958/eu-wont-require-user-replaceable-batteries-for-smartwatches-and-fitness-trackers
> Yesterday, the Commission announced that new product categories would be exempted from complying with its Batteries Regulation, including wearable devices such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart glasses. This will likely be good news for companies like Apple, Google, Samsung, and Meta, which won't have to redesign their devices to include user-replaceable batteries for consumers in the EU market.
>
> The EU's Batteries Regulation will come into effect in February 2027, which is when Nintendo plans to stop selling all models of the original Nintendo Switch in the EU. While Nintendo had no choice but to redesign its handheld console to keep selling it in the EU, it probably didn't make sense for the company to put in the same effort for the OG Switch, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in March 2027.
[1] https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/commission-adds-exemptions-portable-battery-removal-rules-2026-07-14_en
[2] https://www.thurrott.com/hardware/338958/eu-wont-require-user-replaceable-batteries-for-smartwatches-and-fitness-trackers
Hearing aid batteries (Score:4, Insightful)
Have been tiny and replaceable for decades. What excuse does AirPods have?
Re: (Score:3)
> Have been tiny and replaceable for decades. What excuse does AirPods have?
Now you've done it. Expect a lot of responses from morons that think you need to swim with AirPods in, and that gaskets can't be made small.
Re: (Score:2)
> Now you've done it. Expect a lot of responses from morons that think you need to swim with AirPods in, and that gaskets can't be made small.
I'll settle for the fact that standard hearing aids batteries don't even remotely fit in the form factor of a hearing aid. You don't need to make up some non-existing engineering limitation, there's plenty of real ones to choose from.
Re: (Score:1)
Hmm.....somehow I'm seeing the future.....with iPhones and other cell phones, coming with a belt clip on them, and now they are classified at "wearables".....no?
Re: (Score:2)
>> Now you've done it. Expect a lot of responses from morons that think you need to swim with AirPods in, and that gaskets can't be made small.
> I'll settle for the fact that standard hearing aids batteries don't even remotely fit in the form factor of a hearing aid. You don't need to make up some non-existing engineering limitation, there's plenty of real ones to choose from.
Have you not seen a hearing aid and the batteries they take in thirty years? Those things have been impossibly small for the last decade and a half.
Re: (Score:2)
> Have been tiny and replaceable for decades. What excuse does AirPods have?
Errr, hearing aids are significantly larger with standard hearing aid batteries being larger than airpods themselves, all the while hearing aids do not even remotely excel in audio quality which in itself requires very specific design of not just the driver but the housing around it.
Like seriously that is an insanely ignorant example. Cheese also contains calcium so what excuse does chalk have for not being used as a sandwich topping?
Re:Hearing aid batteries (Score:5, Informative)
Errr, hearing aids are significantly larger with standard hearing aid batteries being larger than airpods themselves,
No, they're not. My dad has hearing aids and they are about the same size as an airpod.
For reference, [1]this is close to [hearivo.com], but not the same as, what he has. [2]This shows the size [headphonesty.com] of the various airpod models. They are not "significantly larger" than a hearing aid, and in fact are nearly identical in size.
Like seriously that is an insanely ignorant example. Cheese also contains calcium so what excuse does chalk have for not being used as a sandwich topping?
Yes, your example is insanely ignorant. Cheese is a food. Chalk is not.
[1] https://hearivo.com/product/hearivo-qv-pro/
[2] https://www.headphonesty.com/2024/01/how-big-are-airpods/
Re: (Score:2)
My mother has hearing aids that fit completely in the ear (not behind it), and use replaceable batteries. That's how I know this is possible.
Re: (Score:1)
Nobody said they have to be disposable. You can make them both rechargeable and replaceable.
Re: (Score:2)
Can you? In my experience rechargeable batteries tend to have a lower voltage and slightly larger size/stored power than well designed single use batteries. Once you get to hearing aid size this may be significant. (OTOH, my experience of the comparison is about two decades old.)
Re: (Score:2)
lower voltage only matter if you are talking about standard AA and AAA (and all other formats), where the device is designed for 1.5v and rechargeable works usually in the 1.2v (due to the limitation of that old rechargeable tech). That on some devices may mean less power/strength/etc
if you use a new Li-Ion battery (many with usb port), you get a constant 1.5v (with a included small device to lower from 3.7v internally to that voltage)
But if you design already the device for rechargeable, you are already re
Re: (Score:2)
I think you will find primary cells can have higher energy density than rechargeable cell as they can use a wider range of chemistries.
Re: (Score:2)
Two decades old would probably mean you're considering NiMH rechargeable vs Alkaline primary - 1.2V vs 1.5. On the other hand, NiMH cells have much lower internal resistance, which makes it such that NiMH cells can actually provide more power, as the 1.5V of Alkaline gets pulled down to 1.2V or less much faster, as load increases.
Today, it'd be LiIon more often, though lithium primary cells exist as well, and both tend to be ~3V and low internal resistance. Yes, the primary cell, along with chemistries li
Re: (Score:1)
Maybe but Airpods and hearing aids have very different functionality. Speaking only for myself I'm not willing to accept loss of function or increased weight and size for a replaceable battery. If they can do it without those compromises then fine. However I would suggest such things are left to the market. If people value replaceable batteries then somebody will make a product with one.
Re: Hearing aid batteries (Score:4, Interesting)
I just replaced a hearing aid battery not ten minutes ago. They're 8mm by 5mm in case you were wondering.
Re: (Score:2)
What do you use an oura ring for?
(Since you've bought an upgrade, you must have some uses...but I couldn't think of any, so I never considered buying one.)
Re: (Score:2)
They have many uses; use you imagination:
- fixing a wobbly table
- drawing small circles
- a washer for low-strength mechanical fastenings
- they can be used measure time if rigged up as a pendulum weight
...
Re: (Score:2)
People don't even think before typing!
normal disposable batteries is already ancient tech... anything build around that is either very low consumption (last several months) or also old tech (old flashlights, use led ones, specially with rechargeable batteries, much better!)
you can use them, but if it is something that consume that many so fast, better use something you can recharge! but even normal rechargeable batteries are old tech, you can now replace AA and AAA batteries with LI-Ion ones, that charge v
Re: (Score:2)
Hearing aids have already long been exempted from this regulation for safety reasons.
What is replaceable are the non-rechargeable zinc-air batteries, which go into really large hearing aids. When those are empty, the must be replaced.
Re: (Score:2)
Having recently worked on the development of a new model of TWS earbuds I can tell you first hand just making them resist sweat is a challenge. Making the batteries replaceable is a whole other level of engineering. My guess is if the EU had gone ahead with this requirement some brands would have ignored the EU market and others would make EU compliant versions that where bigger and/or lower performance.
Now, watch the scramble... (Score:4, Insightful)
Now, we will watch the scramble from all the telephone companies seeking to rebrand their handsets as 'wearable tech'
Re: Now, watch the scramble... (Score:2)
They'll just add a lanyard to it and call it a wearable. Ooo some double sided tape on the back to stick it to the hand.
Re: (Score:1)
Wouldn't a simple belt clip do, like they have on pocket knives?
Re: (Score:2)
That's too expensive and requires assembly labor, all they need to do for a lanyard is throw a string in the box and provide a through-hole somewhere near a corner.
Or just throw a magsafe connectable belt clip. BAM wearable.
iPhones will come with a belt clip (Score:2)
Looking forward to seeing the Apple belt clip that will come with iPhones. :-)
Re: (Score:2)
Pretty sure they can write laws to deal with such games. For any company that thinks they can skirt EU law by trying to call a normal phone a wearable will not be selling phones in the EU for long.
Just a matter of time (Score:2)
It looks more like a temporary issue, better work on compliance before the law comes back. After all the commission does not decide things:
Here is the legal base:
"The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 89 to amend paragraph 2 of this Article by adding further products to be exempted from the removability and replaceability requirements laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article. Such delegated acts shall be adopted only on account of market developments and technical an
Re: (Score:3)
Why would the law come back? What basis do you have to believe the EC's recommendation won't be adopted by parliament? They usually are. Many laws are literally created by deferring to the EC to draft them, including this very one they are amending.
> It is also offensive that the EC informs the WTO TBT but not the European Parliament.
WTF you talking about the European Parliament literally got the the EC's output through this process. This is the normal process. Nothing takes affect without scrutiny from the parliament and the council. The fact we are talking about it now means it's literally
In future EU phone news (Score:3)
> EU Won't Require User-Replaceable Batteries for Wearables
Cell phones sold in the EU come with attached wrist bands and companies call them wearable.
Re: (Score:2)
I wonder what "wearables" represents in the original language of the decision. That would make a big difference.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm sure they have some definition for it somewhere in the legislation, probably an appendix or glossary.
"Designed to be worn on the body during operation or use, such as watches, hearing aids/headphones, body monitors, glasses, etc..."
Re: (Score:2)
That's like claiming a jackhammer is portable because it has a handle. That's technically true but not what wearable refers to in this context I don't think.
Re: (Score:2)
That's right, never underestimate the greed and complete disdain corporate assholes have for their customers.
So, only six months ... (Score:2)
... before the regulation comes into force, and the pencil pushers in Brussels do a U-turn?
Any respectable company with a battery-powered product has already spent two years on designing a replaceable alternative. Now all that effort is for nothing. Whoever argues that replaceability by itself will be a selling argument: If that were true, this regulation would not be needed.
When the regulation was published first in 2024, I drafted a polite letter inquiring how conformity can be achieved for products that
Re: So, only six months ... (Score:2)
Seeing how intense was the lobbying of American brands against it, it validates the notion that the intentional battery crappification is true.
Battery standarization for EVs please... (Score:4, Interesting)
Look at BMW i3 - people are buying old car, buying new 2x larger battery and suddenly they god a nice car..
Re: (Score:1)
Why? Literally nothing in a car is standardised and different body shapes require different platforms which mean different batteries. That's before you consider different chemistries requiring different BMS, different battery types and sizes require different cooling systems, which are achieved in different ways. Battery packs have different voltages, and batteries for different engines have different discharge requirements.
There's many things we should standardise in the world, but EV battery standardisati
Re: Battery standarization for EVs please... (Score:2)
On one hand, you raise good points, and on the other hand they don't apply to automotive traction batteries. Battery packs are chassis structural members.
Re: (Score:2)
Swappable battery packs are the closest thing today, but I am not a big fan of them. Standard packs sound great in theory, however the technology is moving too fast to even think about standards, outside of voltages, yet.
Re: (Score:2)
You and the OP are confusing the fuel tank with the fueling nozzle and with fuel.
Battery = Fuel tank. - Neither are standardised, yet.
Plug type = Nozzle type. - Both have standards, but some EV owners have to deal with adaptors.
Electricity = Fuel. - Both have standards, EV tend to more flexible about supported voltages and currents than ICEVs about octane ratings etc.
Re: (Score:3)
> Literally nothing in a car is standardised
Standardised doesn't mean only one shape or size, but it can mean that it is easy to find a matching part:
Tires.
Windshield wipers.
Gasoline.
Oil specs.
Those old 12v incandescent bulbs for tail lights, marker lights, and blinkers.
Air valves on wheels.
12v power point (used to be called cigarette lighter).
12v system.
Lead acid batteries.
Bolts. Nuts. washers.
Fuel line. Brake line. vacuum hose.
Sure most parts are unavoidably car-specific, but for most wear items things are mostly standardized enough
Re: (Score:2)
> EV batteries can be made that way
They are. EV batteries are almost always assemblies of pretty standard cells, just like any other modern battery. The Tesla Model S and X use 18650s. That's the AA of the lithium ion world and is the same thing that's in those oh-so-proprietary power tool batteries, some laptops, battery banks, etc.
There's a burgeoning market of battery refurbishers who crack open old batteries and replace bad cells. Or you can just order a third party replacement, just like you can buy afte
Re: (Score:2)
I am talking about a standardized drop in compatible PACK, not the individual base cells.
Let me just go on rock auto and order a Tesla compatible battery pack - um nope.
Re: (Score:2)
Literally every EV uses Panasonic 18650 cells already, the lockdown is in software.
Re: (Score:2)
There was some truth in that a few years ago, however I am not aware of any current BEV still using 18650 cells due to cost. There is a move to larger cells as they tend to give higher energy density and lower costs. Also the 18650 NMC chemistry is more expensive than newer things like LiFePO4.