Is the removable battery that important?

**kulkaholic** · 03-01-2013, 08:52 PM

Lets get a serious debate about this. I have the rezound with the extended battery. I was not happy with the direction HTC was going with their non-removable batteries. However after some thought I realized I never remove my battery. I am a moderate to heavy user as I stream music at work and on my drive to and from and we have no WiFi. The building I am in rarely gets a 4G signal due to it's construction so I keep it at a 3G while inside so the radio does not burn the battery out and I will still burn through a charge in 4 hours or less. When I am at home I can stream music without using WiFi for 6+ hours on one charge (it would go longer but I will only max my house work at 6 hours).

So is it that important to have a removable battery? Is it a choice or a preference?

How many of you actually swap batteries in a day?

How many buy a bigger battery to give you a longer charge?

**AMTrombley0924** · 03-01-2013, 09:17 PM

I have a Maxx HD, (yes having a battery that size essentially invalidates any argument at this point, haha!), but before that, I owned a Droid 4 with a non removable battery.

With the direction that battery tech is going, the argument for NEEDING a removable one is slowly diminishing. Think about it, of all the flagship phones (RAZR HD, S3, DNA/One/ and Nexus 4), only one has a removable battery. Yes, that one has a huge market share, but its not because of the battery.

As long as you provide ample juice for a day, there really is no need to be able to remove it, IMHO. And this is becoming easier to do with the way software and processing is advancing (read: lighter UIs and less energy dependent processors). Now, there will ALWAYS be that group of people that either need longer than a day of charge (campers/outdoors-overnighters) or just beat down on a phone with streaming movies and data intensive apps. To them I say, 1. Buy a portable battery like this for long trips, and 2. If you're in a place where you can settle and beat on your battery (aka within a wi-fi network), then you are close enough to an outlet should you need it.

**ryanr509** · 03-01-2013, 09:21 PM

Originally Posted by AMTrombley0924

I have a Maxx HD, (yes having a battery that size essentially invalidates any argument at this point, haha!), but before that, I owned a Droid 4 with a non removable battery.

With the direction that battery tech is going, the argument for NEEDING a removable one is slowly diminishing. Think about it, of all the flagship phones (RAZR HD, S3, DNA/One/ and Nexus 4), only one has a removable battery. Yes, that one has a huge market share, but its not because of the battery.

As long as you provide ample juice for a day, there really is no need to be able to remove it, IMHO. And this is becoming easier to do with the way software and processing is advancing (read: lighter UIs and less energy dependent processors). Now, there will ALWAYS be that group of people that either need longer than a day of charge (campers/outdoors-overnighters) or just beat down on a phone with streaming movies and data intensive apps. To them I say, 1. Buy a portable battery like this for long trips, and 2. If you're in a place where you can settle and beat on your battery (aka within a wi-fi network), then you are close enough to an outlet should you need it.

I've never cared much about a removable battery. 95% of the time I am close enough to a charger. I've never swapped batteries when I had phones with removable batteries. I think with how small thin and light most phones have gotten that a lot of ppl wouldnt mind an extra 2mm thickness if it upped the battery capacity by 1000mah.

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**ryanr509** · 03-01-2013, 09:21 PM

Originally Posted by ryanr509

I've never cared much about a removable battery. 95% of the time I am close enough to a charger. I've never swapped batteries when I had phones with removable batteries. I think with how small thin and light most phones have gotten that a lot of ppl would mind an extra 2mm thickness if it upped the battery capacity by 1000mah.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

**trandz** · 03-01-2013, 11:01 PM

As long as the battery lasts all day I don't care. I never bought spare batteries for my Samsung phones. Also I'll say a micro sd slot is also not that necessary if given at least 32gb

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Ry · 03-01-2013, 11:28 PM

It's not that important when you have options to use things likely external battery packs.

I get that people also want to swap batteries to get a fresh battery in there after months/years of use. Yes, they degrade.

Still. The main use case brought up is the need to swap out to get through the day. External battery packs solve that.

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**robcassman** · 03-02-2013, 08:25 AM

What about those of us whose phones freeze up and we have to remove the battery just to revive the stupid thing? I am deciding between the S4 and the One. I'll wait and play with both. Does HTC have a history of freezing up like my S2 does?

Ry · 03-02-2013, 09:45 AM

Originally Posted by robcassman

What about those of us whose phones freeze up and we have to remove the battery just to revive the stupid thing? I am deciding between the S4 and the One. I'll wait and play with both. Does HTC have a history of freezing up like my S2 does?

There's a key combination to simulate a battery pull.

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**MangoPowah** · 03-02-2013, 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by robcassman

What about those of us whose phones freeze up and we have to remove the battery just to revive the stupid thing? I am deciding between the S4 and the One. I'll wait and play with both. Does HTC have a history of freezing up like my S2 does?

My One X froze up a few times where a battery pull would have been necessary. Just holding down the power button for a few seconds remedied the situation.

**RazrMaxx1345** · 03-02-2013, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by Ry

There's a key combination to simulate a battery pull.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Android Central Forums

Very true. My razr maxx has only frozen once since I bought it, and I just held down the power button like on a computer and it reset itself.

I wax in this boat a year or so ago. I had my Droid X which had a removable battery. I would yank that battery so much to reset it that I was hesitant to buy a phone without a removable battery. Eventually I went with the Maxx regardless and it has been good to me. On most phones with a built in battery you can still pretty easy pop off the back of the phone and with a few screws replace the battery if it degrades. Personally I wouldn't even worry about a removable battery at this point. Buy an external battery pack if charging is an issue.
Just my .02

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**eds817** · 03-02-2013, 02:42 PM

I just came to Android from BlackBerry and even though I always bought a spare battery I rarely used them. So when I got my 9900 I didn't buy one. BB seems to last a long time. Now maybe because the all touch phone and Android are new to me and I'm trying everything I find the battery running low quite often. I do have charger/cables with me at all times, work, home and car. The test will come this Thursday when I go to a Yankees spring training game. I plan on using the camera for pictures and videos, Facebook and web browsing. I hope it makes it through the game.

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**Digging my htc** · 03-02-2013, 05:53 PM

This is just the right thread that I have been wanting to read about. I still have my HTC Sensation. I love the phone. I hardly ever pull the battery. Although, I really like the Anker batteries. I replaced my factory battery with a new Anker battery and can go all day with ease without a charge. I really want the HTC One. The battery deal was my only worry. After this thread, I feel a lot better. Like some have said, we can always buy a battery pack. I was wanting to switch from T-Mobile to Verizon and get the HTC One. Now I just gotta hope that Verizon will get the phone shortly after the other carriers do. My contract ends with T-Mobile ends in April.

**vividrich** · 03-02-2013, 08:36 PM

I agree that it's becoming less of an issue. I have a spare battery for my vivid, but don't swap often anymore, though part of that is because it rebuilds the davlik cache each time and it's a pain to wait. We have an external pack for my wife's phone as her battery isn't removable, it works well.

Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Android Central Forums

**Cattails_r_Edible** · 03-02-2013, 09:00 PM

Never been important to me!

Remember what the doormouse said, feed your head!

**barkleyfan** · 03-03-2013, 03:47 PM

Owning a RAZR Maxx (non-HD) I have to say stick with removable. Battery life has faded noticeably over the year. Simple solution is to upgrade to a newer device. But I have to pay retail to keep unlimited data. So I have until this battery fades to unusable status to pony up for a device i want. Just because the battery isn't user-replaceable.

**Paul627g** · 03-03-2013, 03:55 PM

Isn't very high on my priority list but I know to many in the business world or those who might be outdoor enthusiasts prefer having the option to carry and swap an extra battery during their day. Business folks don't always have time to plug in everywhere so they swap out in their busy day and outdoor folks aren't dragging around 1,000 feet of extension cord with their charger to keep charged while they are out shooting photos, jogging, family events, etc... In the past I wouldn't say this was as much as of an issue but with better cameras in the phones these days many people are using them to replace their common point and shoot cameras they would normally carry to take photos or general video clips.

Bottom line I can see both sides of the coin about non removable batteries.

**paul-c** · 03-03-2013, 04:04 PM

I've never run into a situation where I felt I needed a removable battery. I still have a couple phones that have them, but it wouldn't matter if they didn't. Non-removable batteries are the new wave.

Sent from my Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray

**AMTrombley0924** · 03-03-2013, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by Paul627g

Isn't very high on my priority list but I know to many in the business world or those who might be outdoor enthusiasts prefer having the option to carry and swap an extra battery during their day. Business folks don't always have time to plug in everywhere so they swap out in their busy day and outdoor folks aren't dragging around 1,000 feet of extension cord with their charger to keep charged while they are out shooting photos, jogging, family events, etc... In the past I wouldn't say this was as much as of an issue but with better cameras in the phones these days many people are using them to replace their common point and shoot cameras they would normally carry to take photos or general video clips.

Bottom line I can see both sides of the coin about non removable batteries.

For me, it's just so hard to justify removable batteries because there are perfectly feasible options for those business people and outdoor enthusiasts. The two main arguments for a removable battery are:
1. Quickly swap out a depleted battery in the middle of the day for a fresh one
2. Battery pull to reboot a frozen phone

And my answer to both are:
1. External battery like one I linked to earlier in this discussion, which you can carry around just as easily as a spare battery, and cost just a bot more than a spare battery for a specific phone (I don't mind paying a slight premium for it to work on ALL phones.
2. As stated before, all phones with non-removable batteries have a "hard reset" mode when you press the power button for a prolonged period of time, just like computers. This will get you out of a pinch just as easily as a battery pull.

And honestly, the benefits of a non-removable battery in terms of design are worth it given these options. Just like computers, when you design with a built-in battery, you no longer need to design for peripheral hardware to interface with a removable battery, meaning either thinner phones with the same amount of battery juice, OR a similarly sized phone with MORE mah.

This means that having a non removable battery will increase the capacity a phone can be designed with, and if that's STILL not enough, you still have those options above.

**frellingfrakker** · 03-04-2013, 09:15 AM

How much do the hardware vendors typically charge to replace a non-removable battery if you have one that goes bad after the warranty is up? That is my primary concern. If my battery just couldn't hold a charge after 18 months, would HTC replace it for a reasonable fee?

**xlDeMoNiClx** · 03-04-2013, 09:17 AM

It depends on the person whether it matters or not.

**Digging my htc** · 03-04-2013, 12:19 PM

Originally Posted by frellingfrakker

How much do the hardware vendors typically charge to replace a non-removable battery if you have one that goes bad after the warranty is up? That is my primary concern. If my battery just couldn't hold a charge after 18 months, would HTC replace it for a reasonable fee?

Good question frakker. I was wondering if it can be done at the att/tmobile/sprint/verizon stores. If so, bout how much do they charge to exchange the battery or is it something we can do ourselves?

Ry · 03-04-2013, 12:43 PM

Originally Posted by Digging my htc

Good question frakker. I was wondering if it can be done at the att/tmobile/sprint/verizon stores. If so, bout how much do they charge to exchange the battery or is it something we can do ourselves?

Generally, these swaps are not done at corporate carrier stores. I believe this is something the OEM would handle, not sure on pricing.

As long as a battery is available for purchase (implying it's serviceable) and you have the tools and instructions to take the phone apart to get access to the battery, it is something that can be done yourself.

**stirling** · 03-04-2013, 12:59 PM

The OP mentioned he has an extended battery in his Rezound. If it wasn't removable, he would be stuck on the standard battery. For another month, I have a Thunderbolt, which without the extended battery would have been worthless. It's not so much about needing to swap out the battery during the course of the day in my case, but of getting the right battery in there.

**teerone** · 03-04-2013, 01:06 PM

Its only important if the battery sucks to me.

**androidluvr2** · 03-04-2013, 01:14 PM

Originally Posted by kulk35

How many of you actually swap batteries in a day?

I do. I hate having to plug my phone in and always forget to do it. When I swap batteries, I go to my cradle charger and get the charged battery out and put the run down battery in.

Originally Posted by kulk35

How many buy a bigger battery to give you a longer charge?

I did for my GNex.