From February 2027, a new law will come into force in the European Union. The law, years in the making, requires companies to sell phones and tablets with removable batteries in the block. It aims to extend the life of devices and reduce waste, as well as make it easier to obtain raw materials like lithium and cobalt from old batteries.
Since companies are less likely to release a special EU-only version than simply adopt a new universal design, the rest of us could get removable batteries as well. The best example of this is the iPhone, which now has a USB-C port instead of the Lightning port, due to a European regulation that made USB-C the common charging standard in the region.
Despite the new rule, you probably won’t see many phones with back covers and batteries that you can easily remove with your fingernails. According to the language of the regulation, a battery is “considered removable by the end user” if it can be removed with commercially available tools such as screwdrivers. They must not require specialist tools, “unless provided free of charge,” and they cannot use adhesives that would require heat or solvents to remove. That means phones could still have back covers and batteries attached with screws, and companies could simply ship them with special tools if they use something that can’t be removed with a standard screwdriver.
However, there is an exclusion in the rules that could mean Apple doesn’t need to redesign the iPhone. It says companies can simply provide replacement batteries to professional repairers (not end users) if their devices meet certain requirements. First, the model’s battery must have at least 83% remaining capacity in a fully charged state after 500 charging cycles. After 1,000 charge cycles, the device’s battery status should be at least 80%. Finally, the device must have at least an IP67 rating, which means it is dustproof and can survive temporary immersion in water.
On its support page, Apple says the batteries in iPhones 15 and newer have been designed “to retain 80% of their original capacity after 1,000 full charge cycles under ideal conditions.” And as we mentioned earlier, the iPhone 17 series has an IP68 rating. Of course, devices other than the iPhone could also be exempt if they meet these requirements. In other words, you’ll likely see a number of new phones starting next year with relatively easy-to-replace batteries, but companies may not have to drastically change the design of their most expensive models.
