Removable vs. Non Removable Battery: Advantages & Disadvantages

Removable vs. Non Removable Battery: Advantages & Disadvantages

Hello friends todytwt discussed adwantage & ddsddvantage of removable or non removable battery. Cellular phones have evolved from the typical feature phones, which used to be fairly popular until the new generation phones, the smartphones took over. As the smartphones evolved, they incorporated great features in every upgrade. If we look at what smartphones were 3 years back, we would be astounded to imagine 3 – 3.5 inch smartphones, with a really poor processor, 128MB RAM, 1GB internal storage and a 3MP rear camera, along with a VGA front camera. If we consider the battery backup those smartphones were capable of, it was amazing because not much of battery was drained to run heavy applications or to power the display. Since we are on this post to talk about the differences between smartphones with removable and non-removable batteries, let’s get started with it.

If you’re looking at buying a new phoneyou’ve undoubtedly, at some point, come across the debate between removable and non-removable battery types. For most people, it will be an inane question rather low on the list of specifications, but for a number of consumers it can be a huge sticking pint.

Phone buyers have had a love-hate relationship with their mobile batteries. From the bricks that would last days to the sleek one-day-use units we see in modern phones, removable and non-removable battery packs have also split or annoyed users for decades.

A huge proportion of modern smartphonesand tablets now come with non-removable batteries, compared to the removable battery formats of their ancestors.

So what are the advantages of the two types of battery design and why do manufactures constantly chop and change their format?

If you remember the days in which you used to be the amazing mobile mechanic, all it took to repair mobiles was to take the battery off the phone and plug in back. But as the technology evolved, there have been significant development in the battery ecosystem also. In the new age of smartphones, where every phone manufacturing company is trying to reduce the size and making the phones slimmer, they often tend to include a battery which is not user removable. This means that the battery on such smartphones cannot be swapped in and out by the end consumers, but have to be taken to a mobile repair shop or the company’s dedicated service store if you need the battery to be replaced. Everything is done for a reason, so let us look at both – the advantages and disadvantages of having user removable and non-removable battery on smartphones.

Phones with Removable Battery

Like described above, smartphones with removable batteries are essentially the ones which allows consumers to easy remove the battery unit from the host phone at their ease. They can simply open us the back cover and pop the battery off their device, with no rocket science knowledge required.

Advantages of Phones with Removable Battery:

1. Easy restart option: There are several instances where the phones stops responding to any external stimuli. All you need to do under these circumstances is, pop the back cover off, take out the battery (which is a hard way to switch off the phone) and put it in again. Now after turning on the phone, it will resume its normal functioning.
2. Replacement is so much easier: Battery replacements under conditions where it isn’t giving sufficient power backup as promised are really very easy. Whenever you feel that the battery within the phone is underperforming, just get a new battery from the nearest shop with the same specifications as that of the original one and replace them. In addition to being easy, it also is economical – since you have saved a decent amount which you had to pay for the labour.
3. Water damage can be cured: We’re humans, we make mistakes and one of the very common mistake which can destroy your phone is accidentally falling into water. Most of the times, the phone is not completely damaged and can be easily cured with simple techniques like drying. With removable batteries, it because a lot easier to blow out the water from the parts inaccessible from outside.
4. You can carry a backup battery (or emergency battery): There are certain people who travel a lot, and their travel includes very less stationary time to charge their phones. With batteries being removable, they always have an option to carry a few extra fully charged batteries and swap them in whenever required.
5. Hard restart. The old adage “Have you tried turning it on and off again” is often the fix for many of the world’s tech problems. Although whipping your battery out at the first sign of trouble if not often the best idea (it can be damaging in some circumstances) this ‘hard restart’ method is proven to work when all else is frozen and the manual restart won’t work.
6. Easy to dry. If you do happen to get a little too much water on a phone, removable batteries have a slight advantage over their sealed counterparts as you can try and get said battery out before it has time to short. You can then dry the separate component and pray to the god of tech for compassion.
7. Replaceable. Unfortunately, batteries don’t last forever, and frankly modern batteries don’t last that long at all so buying a replace is a good fix for when your old power source is just not holding its charge.

Disadvantages of Phones with Removable Battery:

1. Phone might get damaged by frequent removal: Since you are being given the option of being flexible in the battery compartment, you’ll be pulling out and pushing in the battery several times – at least 3 to 4 times a month. During hurry, you might not follow the proper steps and end up damaging the parts such a pins or the SIM card slot. This might incur huge repair costs, since you will have to replace them with original components.
2. Bulkier phones: With great powers, comes great size. Allowing users to remove the batteries force manufacturers to add sufficient room for safe removal so that consumers do not damage the device. Also to achieve the removable battery design, batteries need to be rectangular (easiest to manage) space for which might not always be available.
3. Untraceable– this might be an advantage for some, but for most people, if your phone is stolen and the battery is removed, it’s effectively untraceable (digitally).
4. Damage– removing a battery usually requires the phone to be literally cracked open, meaning the internal working of the phone have a higher chance of damage or contact with dust and dirt
5. Size– Phones with removable batteries tend to have a slightly larger frame size as the battery is not sealed or manufactured into the closed case.

Phones with Non-Removable Battery

If you have been using modern age phones, or smartphones as one calls it you might have noticed that the back cover is not user removable. When the back cover is bundled with the entire body, we say that the battery is not user removable. There might be certain situations where you might be able to take out the cover, but the battery shall still remain intact.

Ok so that’s removable, so guess what no removable is…? Yep as the name suggests, non-removable batteries are not designed to be taken out of the phone/tablet by the consumer.  In fact many non-removable batteries are literally built into the device, meaning the battery pack cannot be separated from the device.

Just a note here, it is sometimes physically possible to remove a number of the non-removable batteries, however there is a substantial risk the device will be damaged if you do, as well as a risk to the user if you puncture the battery whist trying to remove it. A few non-removable batteries are simply glued or clipped in, but tampering with the battery will likely result in a voided warranty. Once again, it’s possible, but just don’t bother.

Ok back to the battery;

Advantages of Phones with Non-Removable Battery:

1. Unibody design implementation: Who doesn’t love slim phones which offer an amazing performance? Well, for manufacturers (with the existing technology) this becomes only possible when the battery comes fixed within the phone, occupying the bare minimum volume possible.
2. Lesser damages to the interiors of the phone: When the battery isn’t user removable, that means you do not get to swap it in and out often. With this, the internal parts like the pins are safe from any kind of damage.
3. Prevents unwanted particles from entering the inner segments: The battery ensure that most of the space is occupied and there are no gaps from which the foreign unwanted particles might enter the phone and hinder with the functioning.
4. Less parts that can break– Very difficult to get inside the phone and tamper with delicate parts, that could cause damage.
5. Less gaps– Literally less room for dust or dirt to access the device, and no chance for dirt to be transported in through changing a battery
6. Slimmer battery– Phone manufacturers can make their phone slimmer as the battery unit is designed and seal together.
7. Single frames or ‘unibody design’ are usually more solid than phones with battery ‘doors’ and often look far sleeker.

Disadvantages of  with Non-Removable Battery:

1. Costlier to change the battery with a new one: Since the technicalities is lesser known to the public, the cheaper replacement units available with local sellers are hard to find. The only option you would be left with is taking your phone to the company’s service center to get it changed.
2. Swapping in and out a battery requires expertise: Company strictly instruct users not to try removing the battery all by themselves, because it requires expertise and tools which are not available commonly.
3. Fast reboot option unavailable: Gone are the days when you used to remove the battery from your phone when it failed to respond and was hung. You’ll have to look out for a combination of keys, depending on your phone to reboot it.
4. Battery issues are terminal. This is the big disadvantage of sealed units, if your battery malfunctions or begins to fail, you’re stuck with it, as it cannot be (easily) replaced. In most cases you’ll need to replace the whole phone for a simple battery fault.
5. No Battery Boost. As you can’t remove the battery it’s impossible to swap it out for a spare or even upgrade to something more powerful.
6. No hard restart– if the phone freezes as you can’t whip the battery out, you’ll just have to wait for the battery to die or hope the manual restart works.
7. Water damage. Ok, this one is a little on both advantage and disadvantage because it’s difficult to prove, but in our experience, getting water in a non-removable sealed phone is terrible. Unlike a removable battery, where you can attempt to dry out the innards before the battery can short the phone, sealed units with non-removable batteries struggle to dry out before damage is done