Handheld consoles to have replaceable batteries under new EU law

The law, which was initially posted in late 2022, seeks to “reduce environmental and social impacts throughout the lifecycle of the battery.”

The new law will require replaceable batteries in all portable electronics sold in the EU. (Express image)

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Gaming handhelds pack powerful processors to run games that rival consoles and PCs in terms of graphics. That power comes at a cost, however, as most of these devices can barely last for more than a couple of hours. But now a new law passed by the European Union may soon allow gamers to extend the battery life of these devices significantly.

The new law will require replaceable batteries in all portable electronics sold in the EU – handheld gaming consoles like the Asus ROG Ally and Nintendo Switch included – beginning 2027. The batteries will also need to be easily replaceable so that users can proceed without any specialised tools.

The law, which was initially posted in late 2022, seeks to “reduce environmental and social impacts throughout the lifecycle of the battery.” It also aims to introduce new regulations aimed at the increase of recycling of batteries.

Also read | The new law will restrict manufacturers from selling phones that require special tools to open up.

Since the new regulations will go into effect in 2027, it’s unlikely that the next generations of the Nintendo Switch or the ROG Ally will be seeing any major changes in their hardware. Most gaming handhelds presently do not allow battery replacements without voiding the warranty, so the EU law will come as welcome news for gamers who play on the go.

Although the new law will be applicable to EU countries alone, it will potentially impact gaming handhelds worldwide when it takes effect. Accommodating replaceable batteries will likely require major hardware changes, and it’d be costly to release two different versions for the EU and the rest of the world. For instance, the Apple iPhone 15 series is slated to ditch Lighting ports worldwide to comply with an EU law that makes USB Type-C ports mandatory on such devices.

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