New battery laws – what could they mean for the future of mobile phone repair?

Things are about to change for smartphone repairability

If your first phone was a “dumb phone,” there’s a good chance you’ve replaced a battery or two. The European Union’s recent legislation on batteries is about to make this a reality for smartphones. This is a huge step forward for smartphone longevity. It sets out to give smartphone owners the ability to easily remove and replace what are classified as “portable” batteries. This is something that we at HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, are already passionate about. Batteries naturally become less efficient over time – by replacing an original battery when this happens, phones can be kept in use for longer. This is crucial for the mobile device industry in particular. Why? Because in any country, at any price-point, an inefficient battery is one of the top reasons for people changing their phone.

Nokia G22 and Nokia G42 5G are affordable smartphones which are ahead of their time on the repairability¹ front. But now, the whole European smartphone industry is poised to shift in this direction. What does this mean for the future of smartphones?

There’ll be a need to innovate

This legislation sends a clear message that portable devices should start to have repairability built in. Now that this first step has been made, we should begin to see more innovation in key areas linked to smartphone repairability.

There are still inherent challenges which need solving. How, for example, do you provide a level of water resistance to a smartphone which is designed to be opened? How do you design a device that retains that level of resistance to the elements after it’s been put back together at home? As more devices are designed to meet the new regulations, more solutions to existing problems will be identified – and it will take innovative thinking to get there.

Build vs. Behaviour

There are a few potential loopholes in the legislation, so it’s possible that not every manufacturer will undertake this repairability journey. But for those that will commit to designing more repairable devices, there is another challenge to wrestle with: user behaviour.

Designing a device to be repaired at home is an important step, but encouraging smartphone users to make those repairs themselves can’t be overlooked. Repairability makes home repairs possible, but it’s the smartphone owner who can make it happen.

Ease and assurance will take centre stage here. The smartphone industry will need to address pain points around user confidence, warranties which cover user repair, and design mechanisms which not only make accessing the inner workings of the phone possible, but desirable. Nokia G22 and Nokia G42 5G deliver this thanks to a partnership with the repair gurus at iFixit who provide guides, parts and tools. And, extended warranties are already in place for some Nokia smartphones. But even for manufacturers who have taken steps down the self-repair road, there is more work to be done if we want to take smartphone self-repair from a niche concept to a common practice.

The trade-offs

An important part of making the behaviour change possible is the set of trade-offs every manufacturer needs to make when designing a device. Smartphone fans aren’t keen to sacrifice a slim phone design or long battery life, for example, even if it means that the battery can be more easily removed. The challenge here is, if a battery is designed to be taken out and handled, it needs thicker coating and protection. That in turn leads to a thicker device in-hand, or a smaller battery to compensate. There’s almost always a knock-on effect.

In the future, we’re likely to see even more design solutions providing safety and ease-of-repair for key components, without trading off user experiences like long battery life or attractive design. And again, innovation will play a key part here.

Watch this space

There’s still plenty that needs to be done in the area of mobile phone repair, but when it comes to users replacing their batteries and keeping their phones for longer, this new European Union legislation could just be the kick-start the industry needs.