Why are companies sealing their phones?

[pawprints86]

I just find it frustrating, to not have user replaceable batteries anymore. I know it makes it a tiny bit thicker... But at least you'd be able to get the longest life possible out of the device... Without having to take it somewhere to be serviced or having to hairdryer the seal and putting it back together all sloppy and ugly looking...

Does this bug anybody else? Love Samsung devices but I hate that decision :'( was hoping maybe the active series would still be open able since they're more designed for wear and tear... But nope no dice. Total bummer. Think my s5 neo is the newest open able device by them...

Just wanted to have a general rant and see if it is just me or not...

 

[anon(238680)]

Results for Google search: About 1,390,000 results (0.61 seconds)

Take your pick.

 

[Golfdriver97]

It honestly doesn't bother me. I upgrade about every 2 years, anyway.

 

[pawprints86]

Results for Google search: About 1,390,000 results (0.61 seconds)

Take your pick.

Well thanks but I was curious for personal opinions... I know it's due to water protection and wanting to slim the devices and whatever else... I was just looking for people's opinion on the limitation included in today's phones

 

[anon(238680)]

I was just looking for people's opinion on the limitation included in today's phones

And I didn't mean to be blunt. The reference was just to highlight this is a very open subject that has had a very high level of discussion. I don't like non-removable batteries, I much prefer function over form, but that does not appear to be where manufacturers are going at this time, for whatever corporate reason.

 

[anon(5719825)]

I don't really think it's a big deal. Batteries are designed to last longer then they were several years ago.

The only phones that I had problems with the batteries were on phones that had removable batteries. It's as if they designed the batteries to fail much earlier to get people to replace them. Just look at the Note 4 forums.

I've never had phone with a built in battery need a replacement battery. I have some phones that are five years old now that still work and last as long as they did on day one.

 

[Doug Moffat]

We lost the battle with premium phones. Bit don't tell me I can't *****!

 

[pawprints86]

what about when your phone acts wonky? currently the solution in my case is to do a quick battery pull, soft reset. can't do that without being able to pull the battery, can you?

but yes I'm definitely in the function over form crowd. so maybe it's a couple millimeters thicker to make that user removable battery. so? I like to swap batteries at times too

 

[anon(5719825)]

what about when your phone acts wonky? currently the solution in my case is to do a quick battery pull, soft reset. can't do that without being able to pull the battery, can you?

but yes I'm definitely in the function over form crowd. so maybe it's a couple millimeters thicker to make that user removable battery. so? I like to swap batteries at times too

You can soft reset without removing a battery. Just hold the power button until the phone reboots. The buttons to press might be different depending on the phone but it's easier then pulling a battery.

 

[Morty2264]

Coming from BlackBerry devices to Android (which happened years ago), I found it weird not to be able to do a battery pull on my device. Of course, when I had my LG G3, I battery pulled like it was nothing when I had to! I certainly miss that feature now, and yes, it would be easier to extend your phone's mileage, so to speak, if it had a removable battery. But I guess the new "in" thing is thinner phones with water resistance (which I do understand are significant factors for many users when choosing devices); so of course manufacturers will follow suit and portray that in their own devices. I miss them, for sure!

 

[Tim1954]

Water resistance. And possibly to stop ppl putting dodgy cheap batteries in them and when they fail, blaming the phone manufacturer...
Samsung reckons the S8 battery will hold up for over a year without significant loss of capacity....

 

[Doug Moffat]

Simply this: the battle with Apple over style.

 

[Morty2264]

Water resistance. And possibly to stop ppl putting dodgy cheap batteries in them and when they fail, blaming the phone manufacturer...
Samsung reckons the S8 battery will hold up for over a year without significant loss of capacity....

Hmm, good point. It never occurred to me that putting cheap/sketchy batteries in phones and then blaming the phone manufacturer could be a thing... You're totally right!

 

[chanchan05]

My 7 year old Galaxy Tab Plus is still running on the original battery for over 1 day on a single charge. Yeah. I don't mind.

 

[LeoRex]

There's no nefarious reason to scam us into buying substandard batteries or forcing us to replace our phones quickly... it's all simple economics.

First... it is easier and less costly to bring to market a phone with a battery that is not user-replaceable.. i.e. sealed. In order to include a replaceable battery, you need to design the cradle, design the replaceable backing, have the battery designed with the right connection. Then once you design it, you also have to go through significantly more testing since you have to test that the connection is secure enough to not lose contact during use (and abuse). Even little things, like removing and replacing the back hundreds of times to test durability and fit, etc. If you want any sort of water resistance, then you have to design some kind of gasket that also needs testing to make sure it holds up and seats properly EVERY TIME.

As for the battery lifespan... they play a betting game. How long do consumers hold on to their phones, on average, versus how long the battery's effective lifespan will be with normal usage. Right now, those two numbers are fairly close, and the majority of consumers will most likely be replacing their phones with new units around the time the battery starts to degrade to the point where it becomes a pain in the neck. (then again, even sealed batteries can be replaced).