Remember the times when mobile devices came with removable batteries? It’s a rare sight now, but those battery-popping days may soon return. The Council of the European Union (EU) has passed a new law requiring all mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets, and handheld consoles, to have replaceable batteries from 2027 onwards.
The change comes as part of the organisation’s shift towards sustainability, and aims to “regulate the entire life cycle of batteries” to ensure they are “safe, sustainable, and competitive”. According to the legislative document, a portable battery is defined as “readily removable by the end-user where it can be removed from a product with the use of commercially available tools, without requiring the use of specialised tools, unless provided free of charge with the product.”
While there are no direct mentions of handheld gaming devices, an EU representative confirmed to Overkill that “the batteries of gaming handhelds are covered by the batteries and waste batteries regulation”. Existing devices, such as the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and the like will probably be unaffected, but the new law could impact the development of next-gen consoles, including the widely-rumoured Switch successor.
The 2027 timeframe is designed to give “sufficient time for operators to adapt the design of their products to this requirement”, which also applies to smartphone and tablet manufacturers. This new regulation comes after the UN mandated a USB-C standard for all phones, including iPhones, that will take effect next year.
It should be noted that smaller devices, such as earbuds, electronic toothbrushes, and smartwatches are exempted under the basis of wet conditions. A clause in the document clarifies:
“To ensure the safety of end-users, this Regulation should provide for a limited derogation for portable batteries from the removability and replaceability requirements set for portable batteries concerning appliances that incorporate portable batteries and that are specifically designed to be used, for the majority of the active service of the appliance, in an environment that is regularly subject to splashing water, water streams or water immersion and that are intended to be washable or rinseable.”
The ramifications aren’t just relevant to the EU, too. Rather, the law will likely have a global effect, because it wouldn’t make sense to make two different versions of smartphones, tablets, and handheld consoles — one for Europe, and one for everywhere else. It’s a big win for the right-to-repair movement and comes as welcome news for fans of gaming on the go, especially for those with devices that can’t hold a charge for long. Running empty on juice? Just pop in the batteries, problem solved.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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Edwin Teo
