Fast Company:

Earlier this week, the Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad published a scoop (via Business Insider) that sent ripples through the tech industry: the European Union is drafting legislation that would legally require tech companies to make products with batteries that users could easily replace on their own.

If passed, the legislation would require everyone from Apple to Samsung to fundamentally redesign all the phones they currently make–not to mention tablets and wireless earbuds like the AirPods. Both initiatives are aimed at reducing e-waste, but while a common charging standard makes more sense from a technical and design perspective, mandating all devices have user-replaceable batteries is a horrible idea.

I couldn’t agree more. While there certainly is a subset of users who want/need replaceable batteries, I’d bet most users no longer see it as much of an issue.