The current system requires an iPhone user to wield tweezers that pull on strips that are made of an adhesive. Adding the replacement battery calls for the use of a machine and a tray. The new system is aptly named “electrically-induced adhesive debonding” and it uses electricity to remove the battery from the iPhone’s chassis rather quickly and easily even with the glue used to hold it down.
While Apple’s new battery removal system will be an improvement over the current process required to replace the battery powering an iPhone, it is nothing like the method used to replace batteries inside some of the smartphones from the early days such as 2009’s Motorola DROID. The latter was the first true competition for the iPhone and it featured a replaceable battery. As late as 2014, Samsung promoted a replaceable battery for the Galaxy S5. Manufacturers, both OEM and third-party, offered larger batteries for these phones with special rear panels to accommodate the larger cells.
Apple is looking to change how iPhone users replace the battery on their phones
The law doesn’t say that the battery has to be easy to access, only that it can be removed using “commercially available tools.” Specialized tools can also be required if they are provided at no cost. What we could be seeing here is Apple trying to get ahead of the curve before the law takes effect, most likely in 2027.
