TL;DR
- The European Council has ended its adoption procedure for rules related to phones with replaceable batteries.
- By 2027, all phones released in the EU must have a battery the user can easily replace with no tools or expertise.
- The regulation intends to introduce a circular economy for batteries.
Yes, of which I have no personal connection to. I also think that if any company wasn’t going to comprise design that Apple is the one. I can see Samsung or another Android manufacturer making an ugly phone just for sale in the EU but ( IMO ) it would feel strange for Apple to do the same thing.
So you’re acknowledging that form over function, even to the point of making the end user’s experience worse with no upside except to Apple in the form of more potential future profits, is so important to Apple that they’d rather pull out of an entire massive market than respect their customer.
Just like you can’t get a “nicer looking” microwave that has a completely clear glass front rather than the mesh screen (becasue it’s bad for the consumer), and just like you wouldn’t accept someone marketing a cell phone that bricks itself after 45 outbound phone calls (because it’s bad for the consumer, and the environment), you shouldn’t accept Apple being anti-consumer and anti-environment by refusing to allow user serviceability.
Don’t allow Apple to externalize environmental costs on to the rest of humanity simply because it’d be ever so slightly less profitable if they can’t force consumers into a (needlessly) rapid replacement cycle.