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# User-replaceable batteries return as regulatory pressure mounts
- URL: https://adjacent.media/signals/user-replaceable-batteries-return-as-regulatory-pressure-mounts/
- Published: 2026-06-01T16:11:23.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-01T16:11:23.000Z
- Description: The EU’s right-to-repair mandate and similar legislation in California, India, and elsewhere are forcing manufacturers to redesign flagship devices—Apple now includes battery pull-tabs in iPhones, and Samsung offers swappable batteries in some Galaxy models—reversing a decade of engineering choices
- Author: Jonathan Greene
- Tags: #signal, theme-connected, hardware, battery technology, device design

Source: [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/column/939026/user-replaceable-batteries-eu-european-union-legislation?ref=adjacent.media)

The EU's right-to-repair mandate and similar legislation in California, India, and elsewhere are forcing manufacturers to redesign flagship devices—Apple now includes battery pull-tabs in iPhones, and Samsung offers swappable batteries in some Galaxy models—reversing a decade of engineering choices that prioritized thinness and seamlessness over consumer control. This shift extends device lifespans, reduces e-waste, and shifts battery replacement costs from manufacturers to users, changing the replacement device cycle that underpinned hardware profit models. Regulatory leverage, not consumer demand alone, can overturn industry-wide technical standards when enough markets align on the same requirement.