Future of LG and removable batteries

[flyingkytez]

Just got an external battery kit for my V20. Very glad, this is the reason why I picked the V20 in the first place. Call me old school but I really like swapping my smartphone's batteries. I've noticed that the LG G6 went with a sealed battery to make it waterproof (personally, I still think the V20 looks better than the G6 leaked photos). What do y'all think about the future of external batteries with the LG series (specifically the V30 and beyond?)? The V20 might be the last flagship with this feature.

 

[mrdave570]

I also bought the BCK-5200 (LG Battery Charging cradle) for my spare LG V20 battery. The LG G6 (which hasn't come out yet) may or may not be sealed. I would hope that LG realizes that people like us have no where else to go if they stop selling phones that support swapping batteries. So I have hope they will realize this is their niche. What is weird about the G6 is the rumor that it may also be a 5'7 inch phone like the V20. Which means the G6 will compete with the V30 esp if the G6 comes with 6GB RAM as rumored. I was hoping that the G6 would be 5'3 or 5'5 for people who have small hands or or want smaller phones than the V20. I love my V20 but it can barely fit into my pants pocket and holding it is not easy. My advice to everyone who has a V20 is to buy a third extra battery so that you have some fresh ones to swap in 2 years from now when the real V20 batteries are no longer available anywhere.

 

[mrdave570]

https://www.cnet.com/news/lg-g6-goo...s-removable-battery-for-water-resistant-body/

Based on this link, I now think that the G6 will be sealed. There is a comment on this link that makes me wonder about why people aren't buying more LG smart phones. "LG has to be known for something in the Android market," said IDC analyst Ramon Llamas. "What is that something? That's an open question." Here is my answer Ramon: Removable batteries! People are so conditioned to carry around portable chargers and cables, that they think this is the better solution because they don't have to shut down their phone to swap a battery. As if they can't miss a tweet or a Facebook alert or an email when the phone is off during the swap. If the V30 is sealed, I will hope that my V20 lasts 3-4 years.

 

[Aquila]

Sealing the battery is a smart move, helps make a better device. Hopefully this rumor is correct.

 

[TheMarcus]

They will lose a lot of customers if they seal the battery.

 

[Aquila]

They don't have a lot of customers

But seriously, a minority of Android fanatics want removable batteries and they themselves are less than 1% of the market. It's misguided for OEMs to make that a priority. This opinion won't be popular here, but sealing the battery is really a step in the right direction for a device. And where are the minority of the 1% who represent at maximum .025% of the market going to go? Are there other major OEMs making the mistake of removable batteries?

 

[silverfang77]

They don't have a lot of customers

But seriously, a minority of Android fanatics want removable batteries and they themselves are less than 1% of the market. It's misguided for OEMs to make that a priority. This opinion won't be popular here, but sealing the battery is really a step in the right direction for a device. And where are the minority of the 1% who represent at maximum .025% of the market going to go? Are there other major OEMs making the mistake of removable batteries?

How is it a step in the right direction when it will render the device unusable when the battery begins to degrade and then leak acid into the phone's internals after a few years of steady use? This is built in obsolescence at its finest.

 

[Aquila]

How is it a step in the right direction when it will render the device unusable when the battery begins to degrade and then leak acid into the phone's internals after a few years of steady use? This is built in obsolescence at its finest.

Currently flagship devices are purchased by the vast majority of consumers to be used between 1 and 3 years, a period where any degradation that isn't caused by gross abuse will be negligible. The benefits of a sealed battery far outweigh that risk when the frequency, impact and duration of inconvenience is so minimal.

 

[Chris Dontworryaboutit]

Love how people just complain and make it impossible for the manufacture to win. No removable battery? I guess they lose a customer. No waterproofing? Lose customers. No wireless charging? Lose customers. Build an incredible phone with all the features people whine about but charge $1000? Lose customers. Being a bike messenger is about the only job I can think of that keeps you away from a charger all day. I don't get how you guys go through hours of battery use but can't charge your phone.

 

[Mooncatt]

Sealing the battery is a smart move, helps make a better device. Hopefully this rumor is correct.

My experience over several devices with and without removable batteries would beg to differ. EVERY phone we've had with a sealed battery has had an issue that could have been easily resolved if it was user replaceable instead of paying someone else to do it.

As to how it makes a device inherently better is debatable at best.

 

[Aquila]

My experience over several devices with and without removable batteries would beg to differ. EVERY phone we've had with a sealed battery has had an issue that could have been easily resolved if it was user replaceable instead of paying someone else to do it.

As to how it makes a device inherently better is debatable at best.

I would disagree with the "at best" part, for two reasons. 1) The industry is almost unanimously moving towards sealed batteries and there are reasons for doing so. So on that point, there's obviously a debate that can be had - and that's at the very least, even if we were to assume that the majority of people disagree with those reasons (and they don't). 2) I believe that if you spent 5 minutes or so trying to reason what my reasons for preferring sealed batteries might be, you could probably come up with some arguments, even if you don't personally buy into them as much as your own counterpoints. That would also indicate that there are differing opinions that could reasonably be compared and contrasted.

But that said, I don't think "it makes a device inherently better" is my argument.

 

[TheMarcus]

Unless you like going swimming with your phone, there isn't any real benefit to a sealed a battery.

 

[Aquila]

Unless you like going swimming with your phone, there isn't any real benefit to a sealed a battery.

You can't imagine a single benefit other than waterproofing? Waterproofing would be one of the weakest arguments for, given that we've had water resistant devices that had removable batteries.

 

[TheMarcus]

You can't imagine a single benefit other than waterproofing? Waterproofing would be one of the weakest arguments for, given that we've had water resistant devices that had removable batteries.

And you couldn't give a single benefit other than waterproofing? Strong argument for sealed batteries there.

 

[Aquila]

And you couldn't give a single benefit other than waterproofing? Strong argument for sealed batteries there.

Oh, no that's not what I meant at all. I can definitely argue in favor of water resistance in devices. I'm saying that the other benefits can be argued much more strongly because they are either 1) even better benefits or because they 2) don't have the weakness of being dismissed as being possible with both sealed and removable batteries.

 

[tsarcams]

what other benefits are there for a sealed battery? my power button stopped working the other day & i hadn't been able to remove the battery I would have had to replace my phone for the 2nd time in 4 months. when i had the nexus 5, i had to remove the sim card if my phone froze because the battery was non-removable. being able to remove the battery from an overheating phone helps it cool down faster. i just don't see how waterproofing a phone outweighs some of the considerable benefits of a removable battery.

 

[Jeremiah Bonds]

I like that they are the only company that does it. If the V30 doesn't have a removable battery, I don't know what I'll do. No one else is doing it. If they promoted well, it would definitely be their niche market. but whatever.. I live in San Diego where it hardly rains, I don't swim with my phone, I don't have it near me when I shower or wash dishes.. Never ever had water damage on any of my devices. but it's cool.

 

[Almeuit]

They will lose a lot of customers if they seal the battery.

People said that about Samsung.. doesn't seem to stick.

 

[Jeremiah Bonds]

what other benefits are there for a sealed battery? my power button stopped working the other day & i hadn't been able to remove the battery I would have had to replace my phone for the 2nd time in 4 months. when i had the nexus 5, i had to remove the sim card if my phone froze because the battery was non-removable. being able to remove the battery from an overheating phone helps it cool down faster. i just don't see how waterproofing a phone outweighs some of the considerable benefits of a removable battery.

I'm with you.

 

[Jeremiah Bonds]

People said that about Samsung.. doesn't seem to stick.

Samsung also had exploding batteries.. imagine if they could have taken that out?