The Removable Battery Thread - now with more poll!

[Medion]

Its funny you mention crush, because that is exactly what they are doing. Seems people are voting with their wallet in this case. I hate to support one company but sammy is doing a lot of right currently and others are barely catching up.

To be fair, this year will most likely mark my first samsung phone buy since their very first color phone (no camera!) That was also a flip.

I've noticed this as well. Each company listens to a small crowd and tries to cater to them. As a result, you get a phone full of compromises. Samsung just throws in everything and the kitchen sink, and it seems to work. The casual user doesn't care that Sense on the HTC One is damn near iPhone smooth while Touchwiz on the S4 is a bloated mess. They care that they can drop their pants and windmill in front of the S4, causing it to page through photos at a potentially rapid pace.

But seriously, I also didn't want to send my money to Samsung this time. We need a healthy ecosystem, not one where a single OEM has such influence. I was hoping that one OEM would throw us a bone. The Xperia Z and HTC One were awesome competitors to the S4, and there's no doubt in my mind that the One was superior. Google Editions have essentially removed the software differences, so it's all about the hardware. If either of those guys had thrown in a removable battery, they would have gotten my money over Samsung.

And it seems like Samsung has a counter to everything this generation. When people clamored that you needed better build quality and a sealed battery for water/dust proof design, out comes the Galaxy S4 Active, an all-plastic sealed design that still lets you remove the battery. It's not that I'm religious about the battery either. It's just like Rudy said. People tend to buy phones every 2 years or so, and I'm in that crowd. I'd rather replace the battery after 12 months than the whole damn phone when I'm paying $500-$700 for a phone. Now, if I were buying a Nexus for $350 or so, annual upgrades would be more likely. Just give me 32GB and LTE and we'll talk

 

[Trimlock]

Damn you are terrible medion, those images will never leave me... So bad!

 

[DejaWiz]

I will only purchase a smartphone if I can remove/replace the battery myself. I need to be able to install a high capacity battery since I use my phone to download and open service manuals while at work in the field.

 

[niomosy]

Its funny you mention crush, because that is exactly what they are doing. Seems people are voting with their wallet in this case. I hate to support one company but sammy is doing a lot of right currently and others are barely catching up.

To be fair, this year will most likely mark my first samsung phone buy since their very first color phone (no camera!) That was also a flip.

Just picked up my first Samsung phone this weekend; a Note 2. Removable and huge battery plus microSD slot were very nice items I'm going to likely require in any phone (unless stock memory is at least 32gb and probably more these days).

 

[limitedaccess]

For those you that consider removable a must have the LG Optimus G2 is now rumored to have a removable battery.

On a related note I'm wondering how important this is to some of you or are you more tied in Samsung (or even Android)? For instance let's assume removable battery choices become more limited and Samsung no longer offers them. Would you immediately switch to LG for new devices if they were the only choice? Would you look for a lesser talked about brand (there are some lesser known models that offer this as well) on a lower end phone? Would you be willing to completely ditch Android and get a Blackberry?

 

[niomosy]

For those you that consider removable a must have the LG Optimus G2 is now rumored to have a removable battery.

On a related note I'm wondering how important this is to some of you or are you more tied in Samsung (or even Android)? For instance let's assume removable battery choices become more limited and Samsung no longer offers them. Would you immediately switch to LG for new devices if they were the only choice? Would you look for a lesser talked about brand (there are some lesser known models that offer this as well) on a lower end phone? Would you be willing to completely ditch Android and get a Blackberry?

I doubt I could bring myself to go with a Blackberry. Should Samsung shoot themselves in the foot like that, I could certainly look to LG. Not sure I could do lower end devices either. If push comes to shove, I would probably end up forced into a sealed battery. As luck would have it, there's still removable battery options and I'm happy to go with those options.

 

[dandragonrage]

I use fat battery packs, because I realize that it doesn't matter if a phone is 5mm, 10mm or even 15mm thick. I'm not going to sacrifice usability for some stupid trend for thin devices. People care way too much about silly design trends. Be practical.

Won't EVER consider an iPhone or HTC One. Wouldn't take one even for free (w/o contract) except perhaps to sell.

 

[Warrior]

I went 23 hours on my HTC One's battery with a normal days use while at work and had 22% left the next morning. Needless to say I was impressed. I'm loving this phone.

 

[dandragonrage]

I went 23 hours on my HTC One's battery with a normal days use while at work and had 22% left the next morning. Needless to say I was impressed. I'm loving this phone.

And I can go 3-4 days with my Galaxy S2 w/ a no-name ("QCell") $30 extended battery. I bet if I had ponied up for the Mugen (which I've used on other phones - best battery brand I know of) I might do a little better still.

Yes, 23 hours would usually be fine for me, but some nights I don't come home, or sometimes I forget to charge it. And sometimes I go to weekend-long conventions where charging the phone can be a pain. 3-4 days is a major improvement over 1 day and there's no downside other than I had to pay the $30 for the battery. The added thickness isn't even a slight problem. It's still the same difficulty to remove from my pocket (which is because of the 2 dimensions that matter, NOT the thickness).

 

[Warrior]

okay... cool, that seems to work for you. I found having a phone that works for me is cool too. And, I don't have time to be juggling extra batteries, and extra backplates, and all that bullshit. just a phone that can do it's job enough for me, is all I need. It's nice that my phone wont explode in 3 peices either if i drop it. Aint got time for that shit. And, it's nice that i don't have to worry about pulling the battery, and screwing up the back covers tabs that hold it in place. The phone has hardware buttons that take care of that. It's also something else about this phone that makes it feel so damn solid, oh yeah, because it doesn't have a cheap little cover on the back.

 

[dandragonrage]

okay... cool, that seems to work for you. I found having a phone that works for me is cool too. And, I don't have time to be juggling extra batteries, and extra backplates, and all that bullshit. just a phone that can do it's job enough for me, is all I need. It's nice that my phone wont explode in 3 peices either if i drop it. Aint got time for that shit. And, it's nice that i don't have to worry about pulling the battery, and screwing up the back covers tabs that hold it in place. The phone has hardware buttons that take care of that. It's also something else about this phone that makes it feel so damn solid, oh yeah, because it doesn't have a cheap little cover on the back.

I don't have any of those problems, and my phone feels solid, for it is made of solids, not liquids or gasses. While that may seem like a stupid response, seriously, do you think every time I touch my phone it flexes and creaks and breaks off pieces of plastic? It doesn't have issues with that. It's 2 years old and aside from a few light scratches on my screen it's just as good as it was when I bought it. And I don't swap batteries regularly. I don't need to. I have an extended battery that's working better than any stock smartphone battery. I've dropped my phone and never has anything broken, nor has the battery cover ever come off, even though it's cheap plastic. It still does the job just fine.

You've only provided reasons that the HTC One is "good enough" for you, not that it's better than other options. My phone gets the job done just as well as yours and has clear advantages. And you charge your phone every single night, NEVER forgetting, never staying out all night? Really? I don't understand why you people convince yourselves to live with such mediocre/BAD phone characteristics such as 1 day battery life. I'm glad you're happy with your phone, but your reasons for liking the phone are weak. I would prefer amazing build quality over mediocreness, but it's far from the most important factor. Or do you really drop your phone THAT often?

 

[T4rd]

And you charge your phone every single night, NEVER forgetting, never staying out all night? Really? I don't understand why you people convince yourselves to live with such mediocre/BAD phone characteristics such as 1 day battery life.

I figured that was the ritual of every smart phone user. It is for me and my wife at least. I have a Note 2 that rarely ever goes below 60% in a days use and could easily go a couple days without charging if need be. But I have a charger/dock by my bed and one at work, so it stays charged a lot. If I stay out all night at a friends house, usually they have a spare charger around for me to use overnight too.

His comments about build quality of other phones (mostly aimed at Samsung, I'm sure) are a bit out of line, of course, but I wouldn't rag on him for enjoying his One. He's like most people out there; they just want a phone that meets their needs (as littls as they are) and don't care about the extras (such as expandable battery/storage). You can see he doesn't use his phone much in that battery life screenshot (very little screen-on time indicated by the bar there). My wife is the same way, which is why I'm considering the One for her. But with all the Moto X rumors out, I'm leaning more toward that for her simply due to its smaller form factor and larger battery.

 

[Warrior]

You've only provided reasons that the HTC One is "good enough" for you, not that it's better than other options. My phone gets the job done just as well as yours and has clear advantages. And you charge your phone every single night, NEVER forgetting, never staying out all night? Really? I don't understand why you people convince yourselves to live with such mediocre/BAD phone characteristics such as 1 day battery life. I'm glad you're happy with your phone, but your reasons for liking the phone are weak.

Did I say it was better? Why would I say that? I have never said that. I don't need to say that, because, as we all know that is an opinion, and with this topic, that opinion is nothing more than personal preference. And, when it comes to personal preference, I'm sure you are aware that people have their own lives, and just because it works for you, doesn't mean it works for everyone. This phone's battery is good for me and my situation in my own life. And, I stated many advantages, you just chose not to read and comprehend them. Sorry...?

I'm a father with a full time job, I don't "Stay out all night". I have made it a habit to charge my phone everyday. And so has most people with a smartphone... I also have a charger in my car, if i need it. And, I also have a charger at my desk, if i need it. My phone never dies. I never need to switch out batteries and deal with all that mess. I just...charge it. Like it was ment to be used.

If you think the HTC One is my first phone, I've yet again, been mistaken. Ive had more phone then i could count. And ALL OF THEM, have had removable batteries. ALL OF THEM. I know what having that "feature" does to the rigivity of the phone, it makes it suck. The solid feel of the HTC One is like no other phone I've ever had. It's something else. And, quite frankly, it's fantastic.

I'm not here to fight for the non-removable battery people, I could care less if a battery is removable or not (which I have said MANY times in this very thread) All I'm saying is that I have found that there is a few (clear as well) advantages, and that I still have no care in the world about it.

 

[rudy]

I went 23 hours on my HTC One's battery with a normal days use while at work and had 22% left the next morning. Needless to say I was impressed. I'm loving this phone.

I see comments like this but my woman owned an HTC evo 4g lte and that thing rarely lasted 22 hours of regular use. We dropped an extended battery on all our phones with removable backs and we don't care how inefficient they are or what things are turned on or off they last a full day of heavy use no matter what now. No we don't have to screw around with anything because after the first day we put the extended battery on we never need to touch it again for at least a year.

I have seen every one claim the same crap about iPhones and yet they are always asking me to borrow a charger or telling me the phone is dead and they can't do this or that, or its going to die so they want to be careful. Sorry I don't buy this crap that these phones can really last that long over the course of their life I have owned a ton of phones and I guess we must be ULTRA heavy users or something. The other thing I notice is people who claim to get long battery life really are not using the phones much or have many of the features disabled. On the S4 with anker extended battery we have just about every thing enabled. We never have to fish around making sure to turn off wifi or nfc when we aren't using it. I see in your chart your wifi turns off for several hours.

Can the phone last that long yes, but I view it more like GPU reviews no one cares what your max FPS its a useless measurement, we need to know what average and even more importantly minimum is. We use our phones to accept credit cards that means it can't run out of batteries. Why do I see most people with iPhones who need it for important junk IE work running those huge dual battery cases? To me all it says is people who don't use phones for real work aren't noticing when it goes down. People who need it for work do not forget the day they lost the big sale.

 

[Warrior]

lol... Again, that screenshot is from a WORK DAY. As in, I was at work all day, doing shit other than being on my phone...And, BTW, I can't be on my phone at work. At all. So, yeeeaah. Don't get me wrong, I consider myself a heavy user. I'm just saying that my typical day IE, AT WORK, My day is plenty fulfilled by this phone. And, yes, the wifi turns off, when I'm sleeping... I'd call that a great power saving feature.

 

[blahblahyoutoo]

I've had both. The only times I've needed to take the batteries out were to do hard resets on blackberry phones.

i've never carried an extra battery with me or have had the battery fail before the EOL of the phone.

 

[zamardii]

there are 2 kinds of batteries

brand spanking new and toxic waste

non replaceable batteries are planned product failure pure and simple, will not support

This. This. This. 100%

 

[wabbitseason]

This. This. This. 100%

100% agreed. It has nothing to do with being an insane mobile "power user" who is streaming HD data 24/7. It has to do with NOT being a mindless consumer who complacently purchases a new device every 1-2 years. I won't buy a phone without a removable battery because I keep these thing way longer than Li-Ion technology keeps a reasonable charge.

Manufacturer's have one reason for enclosing the battery: planned failure. The form-factor argument is flat out bullshit. Samsung's phones have removable batteries without any impact on the device shape.

 

[rudy]

I do buy new devices every 2 years but I still want the option to sell a working phone and have increased resale value to someone else or even just pass the phone to my kids as a device they can use and get used to the concept of using for more than just play.

 

[dave99]

I get that sealed batteries are planned failure, although I don't really expect to keep a phone more than 2 years. My issue is just not having a battery that can truly last a full day and night with decent usage. The mfg's are striving to make the phones ridiculously thin, just bump it out 2mm and give me a decent battery. I'll still buy a new one in 2 years, I promise.

 

[DF-1]

user-replaceable is always more attractive, no questions asked.

but theres a few questions you have to ask.

Do you want to use the phone for 3+ years? or do you do regular updates every 24 months?

Does your phone have the battery life of a galaxy nexus?

 

[Trimlock]

Here's the thing, and sadly this did start with apple, but why should we buy a phone because it has what we "need" and not what we "want?"

Even if you don't needed it, but want it who the hell cares? If I don't need a removable battery buy want it, I'll prefer a phone with it.

 

[King of Heroes]

Here's the thing, and sadly this did start with apple, but why should we buy a phone because it has what we "need" and not what we "want?"

Even if you don't needed it, but want it who the hell cares? If I don't need a removable battery buy want it, I'll prefer a phone with it.

Because getting what you "want" could require you spending significantly more than what you intended? Especially if you're not interested in vendor lock-in bullshit?

 

[limitedaccess]

A note in advance, this is not intended to be a specific critique of the actual devices mentioned (they are used to illustrative purposes being popular and with available information). Also this is just related to the concept of repair-ability and not the battery argument in general (no need to bring up things such as carrying around spares for a longer charge).

A common issue, and with good reason, cited for replaceable batteries is directed towards longevity, wear concerns, and out of warranty concerns. The debate regarding this issue was very lively when two very popular phones that were rather polarizing in the battery department were released, the Galaxy S4 and HTC One.

We have the Galaxy S4 - http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Galaxy+S4+Teardown/13947

A phone most are familiar with and features a replaceable battery in the vein that most associate with that the term. Even a technically challenged person should be able to replace the battery on the go without much difficulty in under a minute.

Then we have the contrasting HTC One - http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/HTC+One+Teardown/13494

However let's look at an in between in the newly released Nexus 5 - http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus+5+Teardown/19016

Would you say replacing the battery on this device for the DIYers on this forum is significantly more difficult/problematic than working on the innards of a desktop PC or laptop (such as changing the ram)?

For me I only care (to a certain degree) the replace-ability of a battery as it relates to repair. I wouldn't for example carry around a spare battery (or bother to buy one at all) even if I had a phone capable of swapping on the fly. So as long the ability to service the phone is reasonable (such as the Nexus 5, at least seemingly) I am fine with that. So for me it isn't as simple sealed vs. replaceable.

What are other people's thoughts? I have the same opinion for laptops (or other mobile devices) as well.

 

[rudy]

To me in order for the battery to be considered replaceable it has to be easy enough that an aftermarket extended battery and case market can arise. And personally I don't think anything that is glued in counts. This goes back to my whole problem with companies that seem to think glue is a good way to make a phone feel like it has better build quality. Also I will say that I think part of what makes a part consumer serviceable is that you can figure it out. With something like a galaxy phone there is a clear tab that you can stick your finger nail in to pop off the back. When people start talking about heating up glue and using special tools or guitar picks then you are definitely slipping down the gradient of user replaceable.

That said it is all a gradient as almost every issue in life is. If a device is popular enough like the iPhone even a technically unserviceable battery will be trivial for a trained person to change out. And it looks like this nexus 5 is definitely on the easier side of "sealed" batteries. If I have no choice or the other features of a phone outweigh the risk, sure I will go for something like the nexus 5. Unfortunately in the last 3ish generations of phones Samsung has shown over and over that outside of building the phone out of metal they can leave a removable battery in a phone without sacrificing all the other characteristics. So no you wont have to pay more, or have a slower phone, etc...

 

[The Lurker]

Every phone I have ever had with removable batteries was sold with the original battery upon purchase of a replacement phone. Therefore, it means little to me. I buy a new phone before the battery life gets to the point where it begins to affect the way I use it.

 

[Black-Tom]

I like being able to replace the batteries in my devices, having had 3 batteries in my laptop and two in my droid incredible. However, I have both the asus transformer prime and the LG G2 which lack removable batteries... the hardware outweighed the desire for the removable battery.