EU's New Regulation Requires Easily Replaceable Batteries in Electronic Devices, Tech Giants Face Design Challenges

2026-03-31 | Calvin

On March 26, according to Bloomberg, the European Union has mandated that electronic devices must be equipped with easily replaceable batteries. This requirement could force consumer technology companies to redesign their products and make further improvements to the repairability advancements made in recent years.

According to the EU's Battery Regulation, electronic devices launched after February 2027 must feature batteries that are easy to replace. The regulation aims to minimize pollution caused by discarded batteries through recycling and reuse, initially focusing on electric vehicles and micro-mobility devices.

However, the scope of this regulation is not limited to electric bicycles. Toys, video game consoles, and devices with integrated batteries from companies like Meta and Apple could also face compliance risks. Products that do not meet the standards may face recall and sales ban risks.

Sources have revealed that due to supply chain constraints, battery regulations, and AI-related regulatory guidelines, Meta has delayed the release of the latest generation of Ray-Ban smart glasses in the EU.

Other companies, however, are already adjusting their product designs ahead of the deadline. According to Nikkei Asia, Nintendo plans to release a Switch 2 gaming console variant in the EU, featuring a user-replaceable battery.

Earlier laptops and smartphones supported user-replaceable batteries to ensure prolonged device use. However, as hardware designs became thinner, more refined, and more complex, this convenient design gradually faded.

Tech giants realized that battery compartments take up valuable internal space in devices. They claim that switching to non-user-replaceable batteries not only frees up space for other components but also allows for larger battery capacities. Additionally, this sealed design improves the water resistance of everyday electronics.

However, over the past decade, the "right to repair" movement has gained momentum. Critics, from an environmental perspective, have raised concerns, urging phone manufacturers like Apple and Samsung to adopt more eco-friendly production models. Several states in the U.S. have already passed legislation simplifying hardware repair processes, and manufacturers have launched self-repair services.

Apple has made significant progress with the iPhone 16 series, which features an easily removable back cover and a battery that can be extracted by applying current. Samsung, on the other hand, has made its Galaxy series phones' batteries more replaceable by reducing the amount of adhesive used.

The EU also hopes to see the return of replaceable battery designs. In 2023, the EU passed the Battery Regulation, with the core goal of reducing waste battery pollution through recycling and reuse. Professional medical equipment and underwater devices are exempted from this regulation.

However, this new regulation poses significant challenges to engineering design. For example, wireless headphones still use glue to secure their batteries, making them nearly impossible to replace.

The European Commission is drafting a new bill to expand the range of product exemptions, but it remains uncertain whether these adjustments will be implemented before the law takes effect next year, and it is not clear whether the changes will be approved in the end.

Leonardo Veneziani, policy manager at the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a tech lobbying group, said revising this regulation would be the "first real test" of the EU's plan to streamline administrative procedures across the union.

"Treating the batteries in wearable devices the same as traditional DIY tools is absurd," said Veneziani. "When the Battery Regulation was being discussed, the current generation of wearable devices was still almost in the concept stage."