The European Union is very determined that batteries are removable in 2027. And Apple is very determined that they are not

The European Union has detailed your plan so that phone batteries are removable starting in 2027. A regulation that will arrive in the midst of the greatest revolution in battery capacity in recent years: the democratization of silicon-carbon and the commitment to 100% models eSIM.

For years, the industry has abandoned removable batteries for technical reasons. The unibody design has improved water and dust resistance, optimized internal space and increased structural efficiency. It is something that has not been enough for Europe.

What’s going to happen. Europe has reconfirmed its plan to make phone batteries be removable by law in 2027. It is a hard blow for many manufacturers, who have been creating a “unibody” design industry for years to improve their resistance to water and dust, as well as a more efficient internal structure (every millimeter inside a smartphone is key).

That the batteries have to be removable dynamites the plan that manufacturers have been following for almost a decade, since it is required by law that they be “easily removable.”

What does this mean. The novelty in the text has to do, precisely, with what the European Union understands with this concept.

• The manufacturer will no longer be able to glue the batteries to the plate, something that required them to be removed using a heat gun to remove the adhesive.
• If a specialized tool is required to remove the battery, it will be provided by the manufacturer itself.
• The manufacturer will need to include clear instructions on battery removal and replacement.
• The software will not be able to hinder the process or block phone functions if the replacement has not been done at an official service.
• Hardware availability must be at least five years.
• The cost of batteries must be “reasonable and non-discriminatory” in price.

Although there are many questions in the air and, as usual, few specificities, what is clear is that starting next year there will be a very powerful change at the industry level.

And then, China arrived. China is leading a paradigm shift in smartphone battery technology: the arrival of silicon-carbon. This type of battery allows much higher energy densities in the sizes we already know. Or, in other words, that in the usual batteries we have more capacity than ever. Thanks to China, phone batteries are skyrocketing to cases 10,000mAh.

The problem? European restrictions on the transport of high-density batteries are very strict, which is why many of the phones that are marketed in China with enormous batteries end up landing in Europe with noticeably smaller cells. And that, for the consumer, is a problem.

Europe moves the industry, but China does not plan to stop. Europe is an important enough market that big technology companies have to completely rethink the hardware of their devices. The best example is Apple, which had to bend to USB-C in all territories of the world due to EU demands. An especially painful move, considering that it was the only manufacturer with its own charging port standard.

The mandatory nature of removable batteries will, once again, lead to a change in the industry. But China faces the dilemma between slowing its progress with carbon silicon batteries (something it does not seem willing to do) to give in to European regulations, or assuming the extra cost of manufacturing a model for each region. The latter has been doing so for years and, in fact, pushes some consumers to opt for more complete versions from China.

not so fast. Although the headline goes to the return of the removable battery, there is an exception for which manufacturers like Apple have been protecting themselves for years. Commission Communication C/2025/214, which develops and interprets article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, contemplates an exit for durability: if the battery retains at least 80% of its capacity after 1,000 charge cycles (or 83% after 500 cycles) and the phone meets an IP protection standard, the manufacturer may be exempt from the requirement for user replacement.

It is no coincidence that, two years ago, Apple will double the number of cycles of its batteriesgoing from 500 to 1,000. Thanks to this exception, both Apple and many manufacturers will be able to continue selling a good part of their phones as we know them today.

Summing up. The smartphone industry is on the verge of chaotic change. The cheapest mobile phones seem to be forced to give up the unibody design, China has hit a wall to continue innovating in batteries that can leave the country (it is not easy to continue growing sizes and maintain cycle capacity), and the high-end seems that it will be able to escape if it maintains batteries that maintain 80% of their capacity after 1,000 cycles.

A soap opera whose ending we still do not know, but for which the manufacturers will have to start writing the next chapter.

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