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.
It will force research done into swappable battery devices that retain water protection, which will hopefully make the days of completely enclosed devices look antiquated. Plus, help with all these disposable yet expensive ewaste that phones have become.