News: EU mandating changeable batteries starting 2027

[Analog Kid]

I have a mechanical engineering degree with quite a lot of knowledge of product design. A few screws and some torsional strengthening won’t significantly alter the product.

I’m not going to waste further time on this discussion…

That's a shame, because you just indicated that you could make this conversation interesting...

Anyone else have a solution to torsional strengthening they want to share? We're at the point where we agree delaminating the assembly will reduce torsional strength, so how do we add it back so we can go to screws?

You seem to be worried about things long before they actually impact a design process.

I didn't understand this. What am I worried about before it impacts design?

 

[Longplays]

Yeah, it has the appearance of someone running for political office because they have an issue they want attention on, not because they expect to win. Most of the discussion I see is around how cool these modular systems are and how much better they're going to get as technology improves. Which is weird because we used to have more modular systems and part of the improvement in technology was to make them less modular.

I think people here just don't understand the nature of tradeoffs or how integrated these designs have become. iPhones have gotten more reliable over time and the batteries have gotten glued into the case-- for some reason nobody sees those as related. Reliability is seen as a response to embarrassing YouTube videos showing shattered glass, but adhesives are part of a grand corporate conspiracy.

Nobody wants a Fairphone or a Framework laptop. Because they're compromised to crap. The answer will come back that if Apple put their engineering team on the problem, they could certainly mitigate all those compromises. They did, they made the product less modular, at least for users in their kitchens. But that's because these companies are corrupt, and we know they're corrupt because Fairphone and Framework proved you can do it differently. But nobody wants a Fairphone or Framework laptop because they're compromised to crap. If Apple put their team on it, they'd do better... And around and round we go...

Modular systems are crap because those companies lack the engineering skill to do it well. Companies with engineering skill are all converging towards less modular systems.

What I am glad is that I grew out of buying novelty electronics as it just creates more e-waste with very low secondary market demand.

At least with Apple I can get takers the moment I post them for sale... who's gonna buy framework, fair phone or Google's failed modular smartphone when I need quick cash?

Fellow nerds who know to steer clear of "brand C"?

To think this is a f~ing Intel laptop that Apple abandoned because it had issues and is that low tech.

I am personally embarrassed for anyone looking into this as they're so distracted by the novelty factor.

 

[Longplays]

For the many who are unawares for decades you can already buy laptops that is very easily servicable by a company's IT dept.

You can download the service manuals of these business laptops and in it they list down how tear them down and the parts # of each thing.

Dell/HP/Lenovo/etc do not actively advertise this like fairphone or framework as the typical computer buyer does not ask how much spare parts are or how easy it is to replace parts.

I was watching a video on framework with the YOuTuber with female USB-C module that inserts into an indented female USB-C port... why even do that?

 

[Analog Kid]

I was watching a video on framework with the YOuTuber with female USB-C module that inserts into an indented female USB-C port... why even do that?

😄 I had exactly that same reaction... Ever have a USB connector get flakey on you? Now you need to go through two of them for every connection to work... I think they heard people whining about not enough USB-A ports and decided the answer was to make the vocal minority happy and bring the dongles inside so we're all stuck with a smaller battery.

 

[Longplays]

😄 I had exactly that same reaction... Ever have a USB connector get flakey on you? Now you need to go through two of them for every connection to work... I think they heard people whining about not enough USB-A ports and decided the answer was to make the vocal minority happy and bring the dongles inside so we're all stuck with a smaller battery.

I rather have a USB-C dongle instead of that custom framework-only part.

I agree that Apple replacing all ports of the 2016 MBP with USB-C form factor was too extreme.

A 10 year long slow transition from a 2015 MBP I/O ports below

to a future 2025 MBP that eventually have these I/O ports below would make all our lives better

Maintain: MagSafe, HDMI and SDXC ports

Transition: From TB2 & USB-A > TB4 (USB-C)

By 2020 who'd miss TB2? By 2025 who'd miss USB-A?

USB-A will be 3 decades old in 2026... I think that's a good time to be USB-C only.

 

[Analog Kid]

I rather have a USB-C dongle instead of that custom framework-only part.

I agree that Apple replacing all ports of the 2016 MBP with USB-C form factor was too extreme.

A 10 year long slow transition from a 2015 MBP I/O ports below

to a future 2025 MBP that eventually have these I/O ports below would make all our lives better

Maintain: MagSafe, HDMI and SDXC ports

Transition: From TB2 & USB-A > TB4 (USB-C)

By 2020 who'd miss TB2? By 2025 who'd miss USB-A?

Personally, I think SDXC is a waste of space and I can't accept a mass market product that's not tailored to my personal needs.

Time for a letter to the EU!

 

[Longplays]

Personally, I think SDXC is a waste of space and I can't accept a mass market product that's not tailored to my personal needs.

Time for a letter to the EU!

I agree! I still use CompactFlash cards until now! I never had a use for SDXC!

 

[redpandadev]

Doing this would lengthen the replacement cycle of laptops from 4-6 years to 10 years or more.

Smartphones would be lengthened from 3-4 years to 8 years or more.

Same with tablets.

Totally disagree. The batteries on both devices are already replaceable now and consumers take advantage of battery replacement at service centers frequently.

Off the top of my head, user replaceable batteries means:
• A LOT more batteries will end up in land fills (most end-users will not properly dispose of batteries).
• Batteries will be replaced much more often than actually necessary (many users experience issues that they believe will be resolved by changing the battery but aren't).
• Shipping and safety are a major concern. (shipping of standalone batteries requires ground shipping only and have significant bulk (weight) restrictions, storage and handling of batteries actually comes with a pretty significant safety risk).

 

[CatalinApple]

Apple just need to make it cheaper/easier to replace batteries. If the battery on my iPhone went today then it's gonna cost me £90. I could buy a battery £25 and attempt to replace it myself.

Even if Apple were to charge £50 that should still cover the cost of the battery, the work, and still make a profit. Of course Apple doesn't want to make a £20 profit they want a £50 profit. It's greed but yeah we are talking about a $3 trillion company here.

And Apple is the easiest phone manufacturer to get a battery replacement. You can literally walk into an Apple store and have them replace the battery. If you're with Android you most likely need to ship it off for a couple weeks or wait a few days for a replacement device and then set up your phone all over again.

Apple could make everything cheaper, but I don't think the shareholders will agree with you. There are many people who take a chunk of that $/£/€ 90 fee, and it's not only Apple. Secondly, just like you said, Apple may have one of the most widespread store/repair network in the world compared to other smartphone manufacturers. That's the main reason I choose Apple products compared to their rivals.

I don't want to assume I know what you mean here... What does each "this" refer to in that sentence?


You say this like it's self evident. It is not. You're going to have to support it. Right to repair is about consumer rights, not waste. Explain how it reduces waste.

Many people fail to realize that having replaceable batteries or modular smartphones or any modularity on electronics won't reduce the e-waste. First of all, we would have to reverse engineer the manufacturing of each component in order to reduce e-waste. Once you can recycle every component of a smartphone or any other electronic device you are heading in the right direction. At the moment it's impossible to recycle everything and make it reusable again by turn it into raw materials so you can reuse it from scratch.

Remember when LG decided to stop making phones? They were reasonably good at it, but they couldn't find enough customers to make it worth while. You'd think if there was a huge number of customers who really valued replaceable batteries that LG would have done that to stay in the game.

But here's the thing: customers do value replaceable batteries, but they value other things more.

Engineering is the art of tradeoffs. You can't have everything you want, so you need to figure out how to find a combination that works. Size, reliability, performance, battery life, features... Serviceability. When you prioritize one over the others, the others suffer. Nature of the business.

Companies spend their energy figuring out what people most want to gain a competitive advantage. This leads to the best products for people. When people value size and reliability over serviceability, we get smaller phones that can fall in a toilet and live, but that we need to take for service every 5 years or whatever if we want a new battery (I typically keep my phones that long or longer without needing to replace the battery).

So, if you ask consumers if they'd like cheaply and easily replaceable batteries, the answer will be yes. I'd answer yes. I'd like to be able to do that. If you ask consumers what they're willing to sacrifice to gain that capability, things start to take a different shape.

The problem with these forums is things like this:



Do you notice the word "just" in there? Apple has thousands of engineers working on products like this for a decade but forum people, for some reason, think they know the easy fix. "Guys, guys, guys... You just have to give it a twist!".

And this:

Ah, friction! Brilliant! Who cares about wear and contact resistance in a product that sees continuous shock and vibration and spends enormous design effort to squeeze out every Joule from the battery. And screws! No chance of stripping those little guys, over torquing, under torquing, or compromising an environmental seal anywhere.


So many people here think they know the answer to questions that these massive organizations have been studying for years. So many others think this is some major conspiracy. People are convincing themselves that there are no tradeoffs involved because they simply don't understand how things are designed and built, especially in quantities of hundreds of millions.


If e-waste is an issue, tax e-waste. Tax it high enough to incentivize people to create less of it and to mitigate what they do create. Governments should manage and regulate negative externalities like pollution. They shouldn't mandate engineering design decisions because that's the path to unintended consequences. This and the USB-C nonsense are mandating engineering decisions and we will be worse off for it.

Taxing e-waste is one solution to reduce overconsumption but it's also a short term solution in my own opinion. People are creatures of habits and habits are hard to change. It takes will power and not many people have it.

Very well said. Though I have to admit mixed feelings about USB-C. It's like the smoking bans - I oppose them on civil liberty and free market principles....but from a practical standpoint both those I rather like.

The fire risk from batteries is very much an issue. Make them replaceable, and people will use cheap ebay knockoffs, then try to either sue Apple when their house burns down, or insist on warranty coverage when it fries the innards. Your points about friction and jostling are right on point as well - the glue is there to keep the battery from abrading against other components and short out. If you remove the glue, you'll have to add back in shielding - which adds weight and bulk (that's why apple did away with it to begin with). Do people really want phones that are 2x heavier and thicker? Nope.

There's a lot of this 'regulate/mandate it' mentality without any engineering or technical path to achieving those results, or worse, when physics or mathematics are in the way. You can pass a law saying Pi is 3, but that doesn't mean that it is.

I can already imagine the lawsuits blaming Apple for the deaths of people or burned down houses. Consumers would hardly take any responsibility for their actions and blame the company because it's easier.

Do you think they'd be more functional if the battery was user serviceable? With Airpods, the form pretty much enables the functionality.

Why are you landfilling Airpods? That's the problem right there-- not with Apple, but with the people who only care enough to complain in a forum but not actually take steps to reduce the ewaste they have control of. It's easy to say "Apple doesn't want me to", when the reality is most people are just too lazy to take responsibility for their own behavior patterns and are happy for the excuse.

If the EU put a 100 euro deposit on the purchase of Airpods refundable when delivered to a recycler, maybe you'd do the right thing? Better yet, charge Apple or Samsung the cost of the negative consequence between the products they sell minus the products they retrieve at end of life and let Apple figure out the right incentive plan to get stuff back and to a recycler.

If people would receive money for every product they would bring in for recycling there would be a huge queue at the recycling facilities processing all the incoming e-waste. Many people don't even bother bringing in their products to a recycling store or drop-off recycling location because they don't think it's worth it to recycle anything for free when it cost them so much money during the initial purchase.

Many still perfectly usable devices get dropped out of support every year. You just have to look at every single instance of yearly announcements about which devices get cut out to find tons of people voicing their discontent. You guys are drinking too much of the Apple kool-aid if you think that's acceptable, especially coming from a company also claiming to be eco-friendly. Apple is one of the richest companies in the world, they can certainly afford longer support.

I think Apple has a reasonable software support for their devices. It's not perfect but it's better than Google or Samsung. Supporting older devices for a greater period of time than it is necessary has its downsides on the resources Apple can allocate to maintaining a relative reliable operating system. There are many pros and cons to this approach.

 

[MandiMac]

There are probably some loop holes that will be explored as per usual.

Nine pages and I didn't see an answer to this anywhere. Yes, there is a loophole of course for smartphones. They say smartphone manufactures need not adhere to these rules if they can guarantee that their batteries retain more than 80 % capacity after 500 cycles. I guess that makes the EU ruling a bit ... toothless?

 

[Sophisticatednut]

How many do you own?

None yet but will order one when I can buy one in sweden.

As far as evidence that there's negatives to a the modular design it is priced about the same as an M2 Air at the 8/256, 16/512, and 32/1TB tiers

Is it really tho? If I and you bought a MacBook air /framework laptop in 2021, you would spend more to upgrade your computer than I would. I would just need to replace the main board and still keep everything else.

While you lose the ram and storage to the ether.

but is heavier, 40% thicker, 45% bigger, yet has a smaller screen, lower resolution, lower brightness, worse color gamut, half the battery life, lower performance benchmarks

Well it's still a windows computers being compared to apples ARM. Hard to best that battery efficiency with an Intel/AND CPU.

and no international locations you can walk into for support or repair.

You can walk in to any repair shop as far as I know.

The memory options are degraded to maintain backwards compatibility (the 13th gen Intel chips will support DDR5 5200, but is outfitted with DDR4 3200). And swapping modules, especially when not all modules are compatible with all motherboard types, means generating a ton of ewaste rather than specifying the machine that you need and keeping it for its useful lifetime.

As far as I can see all modules are all compatible and interchangeable. The AMD version have DDR5 while the Intel version have DDR4. Only 16inch( not launched yet) and 13inch modules aren't compatible.

Nothings stops you from taking your 2021 framework laptop and installing a 2023 module to replace the motherboard(CPU/RAM)

The battery may be easier to replace, but it will need to be replaced twice as often.

And that's just what I can see on the website. I have no idea how reliable it is or for how long you'll be able to procure modular parts.

Well the computers have existed since 2021 and have a vibrant third party market. Example you can make whatever you want.

And the Macbook Air numbers in your table are all exaggerated compared to the official data sheet from Apple.

They aren't exaggerated, but from this website comparing laptops, tvs, and monitors etc.

Framework Laptop 13 (2022) vs Apple MacBook Air 13 (2022) Side-by-Side Laptop Comparison

The Framework Laptop 13 (2022) and the Apple MacBook Air 13 (2022) are both premium ultraportable laptops. In terms of user experience, the MacBook Air is a little better. It has a keyboard that provides a better typing experience, a larger and more responsive touchpad, and better-sounding...

www.rtings.com

 

[CouldBeWorse]

Nobody wants a Fairphone or a Framework laptop. Because they're compromised to crap.

I have a Framework Laptop and I don’t find it to be any more compromised than most laptops.

 

[Longplays]

Nine pages and I didn't see an answer to this anywhere. Yes, there is a loophole of course for smartphones. They say smartphone manufactures need not adhere to these rules if they can guarantee that their batteries retain more than 80 % capacity after 500 cycles. I guess that makes the EU ruling a bit ... toothless?

This would likely help Android users more than Apple users.

Apple could opt to offer iPhones with larger mAh batteries so the user would charge every 2-4 days instead of 1-2 days.

This is made possible with 3nm iPhone chips coming in 3 months from now.

 

[AndyMacAndMic]

Nobody wants a Fairphone or a Framework laptop. Because they're compromised to crap.

Any factual source for that? Or just a subjective rant inspired by an emotional attachment to a certain brand?

 

[Analog Kid]

Is it really tho? If I and you bought a MacBook air /framework laptop in 2021, you would spend more to upgrade your computer than I would. I would just need to replace the main board and still keep everything else.

Nothings stops you from taking your 2021 framework laptop and installing a 2023 module to replace the motherboard(CPU/RAM)

Ok, then the MacBook Air is definitely cheaper if you're already buying and replacing parts in yours. Barely 2 years old and the e-waste is already piling up? That sounds great for the planet...

As far as I can see all modules are all compatible and interchangeable. The AMD version have DDR5 while the Intel version have DDR4. Only 16inch( not launched yet) and 13inch modules aren't compatible.

So modular until you want a larger screen or to change x86 brands or to use the full available memory bandwidth of the Intel memory controllers you just paid top shelf prices for.

This is a fundamental problem with every modular concept-- even if they let you mix and match today's technologies, there is no way to make it truly modular into the future.

They aren't exaggerated, but from this website comparing laptops, tvs, and monitors etc.

Your source: 1.3cm x 31cm x 21.5cm = 866.5 cm^3
Published spec: 1.13cm x 30.41cm x 21.5cm = 738.8 cm^3

They exaggerate the volume by more than 17%.

 

[Analog Kid]

Any factual source for that?

Yes:

As far as evidence that there's negatives to a the modular design it is priced about the same as an M2 Air at the 8/256, 16/512, and 32/1TB tiers but is heavier, 40% thicker, 45% bigger, yet has a smaller screen, lower resolution, lower brightness, worse color gamut, half the battery life, lower performance benchmarks and no international locations you can walk into for support or repair.

The memory options are degraded to maintain backwards compatibility (the 13th gen Intel chips will support DDR5 5200, but is outfitted with DDR4 3200). And swapping modules, especially when not all modules are compatible with all motherboard types, means generating a ton of ewaste rather than specifying the machine that you need and keeping it for its useful lifetime.

The battery may be easier to replace, but it will need to be replaced twice as often.

And that's just what I can see on the website. I have no idea how reliable it is or for how long you'll be able to procure modular parts.

If you're going to nit pick on the reductionist "nobody", I'll concede that at least one person stood up to say that have one so we'll call it "few".

Still, I'm glad Framework exists for the people who want it. I don't need the government telling me we should all make the compromises that Framework imposes and the pile of e-waste they'll produce.

 

[Longplays]

Yes:


If you're going to nit pick on the reductionist "nobody", I'll concede that at least one person stood up to say that have one so we'll call it "few".

Still, I'm glad Framework exists for the people who want it. I don't need the government telling me we should all make the compromises that Framework imposes and the pile of e-waste they'll produce.

Why Google's Project Ara Modular Smartphone Was A Complete Failure - SlashGear

Why did the supposedly revolutionary idea of modular smartphones fail to take off, and more importantly, why did Google's Project Ara disappear?

www.slashgear.com

framework & fairphone should read up on Google's Project Ara modular smartphone.

 

[Silverstring]

Are the any actual evidence of there being anything more negative with a modular laptop? Could simply be a lack of innovation on apples part.
Seems like they just lack the motivation.

View attachment 2219845

Are you genuinely asking for a negative to be proven?

Thanks for proving the point. The modular laptop is bigger and heavier.

Maybe the difference doesn't matter to you, and that's fine—go buy a modular laptop, then! How is telling a consumer, "so it's slightly bigger and heavier—whatever, you'll get over it" any different than saying "so you can't replace the components—whatever, you'll get over it"?! Different sides of the same coin.

Again, my issue is that I want a choice, not a governmental entity mandating "we won't allow x or y product to exist", so that the people preferring a different design approach can't get it.

The reduction of choice is not pro-consumer.

 

[Longplays]

Are you genuinely asking for a negative to be proven?

Thanks for proving the point. The modular laptop is bigger and heavier.

Maybe the difference doesn't matter to you, and that's fine—go buy a modular laptop, then! How is telling a consumer, "so it's slightly bigger and heavier—whatever, you'll get over it" any different than saying "so you can't replace the components—whatever, you'll get over it"?! Different sides of the same coin.

Again, my issue is that I want a choice, not a governmental entity mandating "we won't allow x or y product to exist", so that the people preferring a different design approach can't get it.

The reduction of choice is not pro-consumer.

Not many people outside of tech enthusiasts, journalists, and writers were enthusiastic about going modular in the first place.

When that company shuts down... anyone who bought it would likely buy into a Dell/HP/Lenovo/Apple again and like it.

 

[Sophisticatednut]

Are you genuinely asking for a negative to be proven?

Yes I am asking a person who claims a negative to prove said negative or retract their unproven and unfounded opinion

Thanks for proving the point. The modular laptop is bigger and heavier.

Compared to what? It's quite comparable to macbook pro or other similar windows computers.

Unfortunate we cant compare to the 2023 model as its not out yet but it has been vastly improved with longer battery life etc.

Maybe the difference doesn't matter to you, and that's fine—go buy a modular laptop, then! How is telling a consumer, "so it's slightly bigger and heavier—whatever, you'll get over it" any different than saying "so you can't replace the components—whatever, you'll get over it"?! Different sides of the same coin.

The difrences do mater. But you still need to compare apples to appls. The macbook pro 13" 2019 with the last intel CPU is a better comparison. 30.4 cm × 21.2 cm × 1.5 cm 1.37kg

And framework have only existed for 3~ years. And nothing prevents apple from making their laptops more repairable within exactly the same chassi they have now outside of it not being in their economic intrest to do so.

Again, my issue is that I want a choice, not a governmental entity mandating "we won't allow x or y product to exist", so that the people preferring a different design approach can't get it.

The reduction of choice is not pro-consumer.

I'm sorry but the government does this to everything as you don't live in anarcho capitalist country. And nothing here mandates modularity, so apple are free to design their laptops in any way they want. But they arbitrarily prevent people from opening up their computers and to replace consumable parts such as batteries.

You aren't free to buy something made with some materials, you can't buy a laptop with more than 100wh battery. Apple and others isn't forced to design any more specific way now than normal. As thers a million things apple are forbidden from selling acording to both your and my government. Waranty must cover specific things and contracts are legally required to be written in specific ways and some rights can't be sold or given away etc etc.

And People are free to vote in a more laissez-faire representatives if that's what they want.

 

[Sophisticatednut]

Why Google's Project Ara Modular Smartphone Was A Complete Failure - SlashGear

Why did the supposedly revolutionary idea of modular smartphones fail to take off, and more importantly, why did Google's Project Ara disappear?

www.slashgear.com

framework & fairphone should read up on Google's Project Ara modular smartphone.

Fairphone as far as I know isn't modular, but repairable. And framework doesn't have competing products canibalising itself.

But they have showed it's practical and feasible to alot of these things with no real compromise to make something easily repairable. Going further and making it modular is just impressive. And the modularity is at the simplest form just changing ports.

Yes:

Any evidence? I would gladly know where you find modules are incompatible?

If you're going to nit pick on the reductionist "nobody", I'll concede that at least one person stood up to say that have one so we'll call it "few".

Still, I'm glad Framework exists for the people who want it. I don't need the government telling me we should all make the compromises that Framework imposes and the pile of e-waste they'll produce.

Can you provide any data for this e-waste? Considering you end up scrapping the entire computer in most cases as repairs are cost probitive and hard to do.

All modules are completely compatible

 

[Analog Kid]

Any evidence? I would gladly know where you find modules are incompatible?

Maybe you'll find this source reliable?:

The AMD version have DDR5 while the Intel version have DDR4. Only 16inch( not launched yet) and 13inch modules aren't compatible.

Can you provide any data for this e-waste?

This:

Nothings stops you from taking your 2021 framework laptop and installing a 2023 module to replace the motherboard(CPU/RAM)

When nothing stops people from swapping pieces because they need a little retail therapy, or because someone has convinced them against all evidence that they need more RAM or a new battery to run faster, and they're not experienced with the proper handling of sensitive electronics, and changing one module encourages changing others, and they're all made with extra components to support generic interfaces, and they're doing it all at home where they don't have proper e-waste disposal and there's not much of an aftermarket for resale of obsolete modules, then you wind up with a lot more junk in landfills.

Want less ewaste? Buy what you need and use it for 5 or 8 years without tweaking it then sell it to a new owner or return it to the source to be broken down and recycled through reputable waste handlers.

 

[Sophisticatednut]

Maybe you'll find this source reliable?:



This:

When nothing stops people from swapping pieces because they need a little retail therapy, or because someone has convinced them against all evidence that they need more RAM or a new battery to run faster

Can also simply be to repair your computer. You or any independent repairshop can purchase a display, antenas, keyboard or camera etc anything that might break is available to be repaired.

, and they're not experienced with the proper handling of sensitive electronics, and changing one module encourages changing others

This isn't a drug and electronics aren't that sensitive that it break if you look at it wrong.

, and they're all made with extra components to support generic interfaces, and they're doing it all at home where they don't have proper e-waste disposal and there's not much of an aftermarket for resale of obsolete modules, then you wind up with a lot more junk in landfills.

That's quite a wilde conclusion considering all the modules are reusable and resellable.
Nothing is proprietary.
RAM is standard off the shelf parts. Extra components? They are hotswapable external modules that uses standard USB 4/3.2.

I'm amazed you know thers no after market for somthing already 🤔

Thers only one module that could be obsolete and that would be the CPU, somthing that is completely reusable standalone.

Want less ewaste? Buy what you need and use it for 5 or 8 years without tweaking it then sell it to a new owner or return it to the source to be broken down and recycled through reputable waste handlers.

And nothing stops anyone from doing that right now, but with the added benefit. What you need today is not necessarily adequate in 8 years and quite literally waste of money and resources just to be "future proof". And at the end if the day you can still use the computer as a small integrated computer

Why throw away or resycle a 1.3kg when you only need to replace 100g(less than 1/10h of the materil) to make it usable?

Do you need 2TB today? Probably not so you can manage with 200gb-500gb today intill it becomes cheaper in 2 years. Do you need more than 8gb of ram? Perhaps not, better to purchase refurbished parts in the flute if you need it.

Did you drop your computer and break the screen? Well then you can just replace the broken part instead of sending away the entire assembly.

Users aren't the only ones who benefits, but also service senters.

 

[HDFan]

leaded gasoline is an actual health/safety risk. User swappable batteries...not the same risk.

I can see some cheap 3rd party replacement lithium battery failing and igniting on a plane ...

 

[Grey Area]

And swapping modules, especially when not all modules are compatible with all motherboard types, means generating a ton of ewaste rather than specifying the machine that you need and keeping it for its useful lifetime.

But useful lifetime is extended by modularity. My current laptop (a little Thinkpad) is 6 years old, and back when it was new its max options were 16 GB RAM and 1 TB storage. Mine has 32 GB RAM now (and I use them), and 2 TB storage, close to full, which means I am debating whether to upgrad it to 4 TB or maybe straight away to 8 TB.

Three years ago I considered a top range M1 Air; I bet it is a damn fine computer, but I would have to dump it now, because it is too small and cannot be upgraded. The M2 Air could never even be specced at a useful size for me. That old Thinkpad will keep trucking on while the non-modular Airs come and go like mayflies.