New handheld game consoles will need replaceable batteries from 2027, EU says
New handheld game consoles will need replaceable batteries from 2027, EU says
Handheld gaming consoles, such as the likes of the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck, will need to have replaceable batter…
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As I recall, valve said that they wanted the battery to be more easily replaceable. The issue was that the battery expands and shrinks during use, and they couldn't find a good way to secure it that both kept it easily replaceable and kept it from sliding around during use. Ultimately, they had to use glue to hold the battery in place.
You can work around that, there’s plenty of designs that allow for slight thermal expansion while not using adhesive to hold down the battery. Take for example, old MacBook Air batteries, that had the cells with room for expansion but framed in hard plastic that screwed into the housing, allowing for quick and easily swapping the batteries.
Yeah, my understanding is that it's not an insurmountable issue, it's just one that the steam deck hardware team wasn't able to solve in a cost effective way.
That I can believe. Between the cost of producing cells in custom housings, and the individually minuscule but collectively considerable cost of both mounting hardware and fasteners, a piece of adhesive looks a lot better to manufacturers.