The problem is the battery, and how they have a finite lifespan. Usually that’s about 400 recharge cycles, and after that the batteries are finished.
And if you can’t replace it, then it’s the end of the line for the gadget, and it’s tossed onto the e-waste pile.
It is so incredibly aggravating that it’s 2024 and unreplaceable batteries are still a thing.
I guess Apple didn’t get enough shade when they did this in phones so it just became industry-standard.
It’s both horrible for the environment and for the consumer.
I guarantee the engineers could easily make it replaceable for little to no added cost, they’re just specifically instructed by business leaders not to.
Well, sure! How are they going to sell you the $450 replacement ring in two years if you’re able to replace the dead battery by paying $30 to a stoned college kid working at a fix-it kiosk in your local mall? Consumers, they never know what’s good for them. /s
Making something this thin and small with a replaceable battery would be very difficult. What is needed for something like this is more reliable batteries that can last for 10-20 years and 10’s of thousands of cycles.
Something larger like a smart watch definitely should have replaceable batteries though.
Making something this thin and small with a replaceable battery would be very difficult.
Well, then don’t? Manufacturers should be responsible for repairs, spare parts and recycling after the product is sold, so they don’t intentionally produce products that thrown into waste after a few years.
What modern lithium ion battery is limited to 400 cycles under normal conditions? My 2017 tablet had 1,600 cycles on it and 82% SoH when I sold it this year.
It’s not as simple as you think but I do agree the larger issue is Apple and other companies being incentivized not to do it either way because they can make more money this way.
Good example of why legislation/regulation is so important. The “market” doesn’t generally care about e waste.
My Apple Watch 7 (two years old) and AirPod pro gen 1 (three years old) are both having hardware issues. I took them to Apple who said “we don’t, we replace and the cost of a watch SE and AirPod pros 2 cost the same as a replacement of your devices”. I now have $600 of e-waste sitting in my drawer.
The experience really turned me off Apple but no one else is better. The whole ecosystem is garbage. I think I’ll learn to live without the watch but there’s no other totally wireless headphones that suit my needs and I’ll end up replacing them.
The gold standard of personal devices has set the scene and consumers are left with no option but to buy devices that have limited lifespans. No such as buy it for life in 2024.
Well there is stuff like Fairphone, which do also other things like earbuds I think. Haven’t used it myself though but I am keeping an eye on these things for my next phone.
Fairphones and all those products are all well and good and I want to support them, but they simply do not run like an iPhone. Apple has a lot of issues, but there’s a reason they still sell. And it’s not just teenagers using their mommy and daddy‘s money/socialites/influencers chasing designer tech. The iPhone from a moment to moment experience is generally considered the best and their camera(s) still do amazing work.
A lot of the things that people like us care about simply do not matter as much to the larger market. Most people do not actually want to repair their electronics and they don’t really care if Apple or some third-party handles it. It’s why people have to lobby so hard for things like right to repair and educate people on these issues
It is so incredibly aggravating that it’s 2024 and unreplaceable batteries are still a thing. I guess Apple didn’t get enough shade when they did this in phones so it just became industry-standard. It’s both horrible for the environment and for the consumer.
I guarantee the engineers could easily make it replaceable for little to no added cost, they’re just specifically instructed by business leaders not to.
Well, sure! How are they going to sell you the $450 replacement ring in two years if you’re able to replace the dead battery by paying $30 to a stoned college kid working at a fix-it kiosk in your local mall? Consumers, they never know what’s good for them. /s
Making something this thin and small with a replaceable battery would be very difficult. What is needed for something like this is more reliable batteries that can last for 10-20 years and 10’s of thousands of cycles.
Something larger like a smart watch definitely should have replaceable batteries though.
Well, then don’t? Manufacturers should be responsible for repairs, spare parts and recycling after the product is sold, so they don’t intentionally produce products that thrown into waste after a few years.
What modern lithium ion battery is limited to 400 cycles under normal conditions? My 2017 tablet had 1,600 cycles on it and 82% SoH when I sold it this year.
It’s not as simple as you think but I do agree the larger issue is Apple and other companies being incentivized not to do it either way because they can make more money this way.
Good example of why legislation/regulation is so important. The “market” doesn’t generally care about e waste.
My Apple Watch 7 (two years old) and AirPod pro gen 1 (three years old) are both having hardware issues. I took them to Apple who said “we don’t, we replace and the cost of a watch SE and AirPod pros 2 cost the same as a replacement of your devices”. I now have $600 of e-waste sitting in my drawer.
The experience really turned me off Apple but no one else is better. The whole ecosystem is garbage. I think I’ll learn to live without the watch but there’s no other totally wireless headphones that suit my needs and I’ll end up replacing them.
The gold standard of personal devices has set the scene and consumers are left with no option but to buy devices that have limited lifespans. No such as buy it for life in 2024.
Well there is stuff like Fairphone, which do also other things like earbuds I think. Haven’t used it myself though but I am keeping an eye on these things for my next phone.
Fairphones and all those products are all well and good and I want to support them, but they simply do not run like an iPhone. Apple has a lot of issues, but there’s a reason they still sell. And it’s not just teenagers using their mommy and daddy‘s money/socialites/influencers chasing designer tech. The iPhone from a moment to moment experience is generally considered the best and their camera(s) still do amazing work.
A lot of the things that people like us care about simply do not matter as much to the larger market. Most people do not actually want to repair their electronics and they don’t really care if Apple or some third-party handles it. It’s why people have to lobby so hard for things like right to repair and educate people on these issues