As far as we know, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 will have a battery like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Samsung Galaxy S20

If you've tried to replace a battery in a Samsung phone in the last few years, you know it's not easy

Samsung seals the battery compartment with adhesive This means that you either take it to a trained repairman who has the necessary tools to remove the cells, or you do it yourself and risk damaging the phone or injuring yourself if you happen to break the battery However, Samsung may soon be forced to change its ways, and this could have a very positive impact on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 20 (and next year's Samsung Galaxy S21)

According to the Dutch site Het Financieele Dagblad (via Tweakers and XDA Developers), the European Commission has a draft proposal to force electronics manufacturers to make batteries replaceable, which will be discussed in March This would include cell phones, tablets, and wireless headphones The plan also details plans for extended warranty periods, easier access to repair instructions, and a Europe-wide collection system for unwanted consumer electronics

This is primarily focused through the lens of environmental issues, ensuring that materials are produced in a sustainable manner and recycled when no longer needed If all people had to do to repair a cell phone was to replace the battery rather than the entire phone, there would be considerably less e-waste But this just so happens to be a great thing in terms of general repairability and keeping the cell phone functioning at its maximum potential for longer

The law will of course affect smartphone manufacturers around the world, but Samsung will be the biggest affected because it is the world's largest cell phone manufacturer The last Samsung Galaxy flagship phones with replaceable batteries were the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4, released in 2014 You wouldn't expect such an old phone to have any impact on phones released in 2020, but it could very well

This is also in response to the EU ruling that electronics manufacturers must use USB-C to reduce waste, which will have a significant impact on Apple and its Lightning connector, although not in time for the iPhone 12

An earlier version of this article omitted that the Galaxy Note 4 is one of the last Samsung flagships with a replaceable battery