Replaceable batteries in the iPhone

 Apple might make batteries easier to replace in the iPhone 16

Apple manages to squeeze a huge amount of tech into the best iPhones, but its devices are so densely packed that replacing any of their parts can quickly become frustrating. According to a report available, Apple is working on a way to ditch the adhesive strips that hold the iPhone battery in place. Apple will need to comply with EU regulations which require all phone batteries to be user-replaceable by 2025. Currently, the battery is encased in foil and is attached to the phone via adhesive strips, which you pull to dislodge the battery.

Apple is reportedly working to move to a metal enclosure which will pop the battery out after receiving a small electrical jolt. The technology is reportedly called electrically induced adhesive debonding. Whether that sounds easier than pulling adhesive tabs is still open for debate. When the iPhone 16 rolls around this September, though, that might all change in one important way. That’s because a report has claimed that Apple is working on an interesting new way to make its phone batteries easier to remove and replace.

Getting to that battery will be just as tough as it is now - you first need to get through the adhesive holding the glass parts to the frame of the phone, then several screws and ribbon cables. But according to the report’s authors, Apple wants to replace that system with a new method that “uses electricity to dislodge the battery.” This would appear in “at least one model of the iPhone 16 this year and possibly all versions of the iPhone 17 slated for global release next year,” the report claims.

The new method, dubbed “electrically induced adhesive debonding,” will see the iPhone’s battery encased in metal rather than the foil that Apple currently uses. The battery could then be removed by applying a small jolt of electricity to it, for instance by using a direct current power supply. Given the complexity of opening an iPhone case and the potential risks of handling electricity, Apple will still recommend that people would require the help of a professional to replace their batteries. Many other manufacturers use similar adhesive pull tabs, meaning they'll need to find a way to make battery replacement easier by next year too.

The move has been prompted by legislation from the European Union (EU), which mandates that all phone makers ensure that their devices’ batteries can be replaced by their owners using accessible tools by 2025. It’s just the latest piece of EU legislation to have forced Apple’s hand, which so far has seen the iPhone manufacturer bring USB-C to its phones and open up its app store ecosystem to third parties. As explained by Apple executive John Ternus, a large chunk of the reason why Apple uses adhesives inside its devices is to help make them more waterproof and stop water spreading through the inside of a device. Yet the company has to find a way to strike a balance between repairability and longevity, something seems difficult to achieve.

But we know that Apple is definitely thinking about it, as the company has been on a sustainability drive in recent weeks. Recently, Apple announced it would expand its diagnostics software to anyone in Europe who wants to repair their iPhone, while at the same time it also released a sustainability white paper which outlined its efforts to make its devices last longer, and its belief that durability is preferable to repairability. Those moves follow a patent Apple filed earlier this year for replaceable, modular batteries, so we know the topic is being explored. With the iPhone 16 just a few months away, we might soon see where some of these efforts have led and whether Apple has managed to find the right balance between making its products last longer and making them easier to repair for it's user's around the world.