Once again, the EU drags the rest of us into modernity kicking and screaming.

Isn't the main issue whether or not there's an ease to replace? There's like 20 steps and a bunch of easily breakable cables involved with replacing it currently.

I mean I think you can replace the Switch's battery too by that standard.

Same site even says it's only 1 extra step in total, though instead of the cables being in the way, it sounds like the shields a bit more difficult.

But like either of these replacements would require a technical user to do it.

Says 2-4 hours and “difficult” on the battery replacement page

Nah. The battery on my old Samsung Galaxy S4 literally just pops out with minor force applied as soon as the cover is off, leaving the phone ready for a new one to be slotted in. That is what "user replaceable" means.

Don't get me wrong, I am familiar with electronics, have a diploma in electrical engineering, have soldered hundreds/thousands of components, etc. and I could do this easily (though I have concerns about heating the battery). But most people cannot currently replace the battery without significant headaches.

Steam deck done.

Not really. Look up the Linus Tech Tips teardown. The battery is glued in super hard. Linus said he spoke to Valve about that and according to him Valve said they're looking into making it easier to replace at a later date. Since then I've not seen any reports about a change.

Heat gun on the battery, that sounds fun

i think 'user replaceable' should involve no tools, and a minimum of time. if step one involves removing eight tiny screws, and it only gets more cumbersome from there, i don't think it counts.

I think it should be fully replaceable storage, not just expandable because a lot of companies throw out completely fine devices to get rid of sensitive information on the soldered drives

Yeah, in place of the EU I would fuck apple up for their decision on soldered ssd. It's not only stupid, but just inhuman towards nature.

Hopefully we'll get our right to repair act together.

if it is safe for an untrained individual to do so.

Remove this part and I agree. If you don't know how to repair it yourself, you can always go to an independent repair shop. But if manufacturers don't have to make parts available, you are at the mercy of the manufacturer.

So make the parts available and publish schematics, and those who want to can attempt the repair themselves, and those who don't can take it to a repair shop.

Manufacturers use the "but it's dangerous!" excuse to lock people into their ecosystem and/or support planned obsolescence. That needs to end.

Steam Deck has 2/3 but an IR blaster would be dope. I wish phones still had them too.

I doubt they would do that since the EU is such a big market

The Steam Deck is nearly there with replaceable batteries. You need to have a bit of experience to do it, but Valve doesn't impede on you or your warranty when performing your own battery replacement.