Future video game handhelds may require a replaceable battery from 2027, according to a new European Union regulation recently passed.
The document posted by the EU details new regulations to be introduced in 2027, which requires all devices of this manner to allow the user easy access to the battery. This only affects new products, so if, say, Sony were to release a new handheld before then (as unlikely as it is), they wouldn’t have to offer a replaceable battery.
The same would go for a Nintendo Switch successor launched before 2027; Nintendo would not be required to revise its original design in order to accommodate the need for a replaceable battery.
Nonetheless, the document does indicate that any new handheld consoles would have to make it possible for the battery to be removed by the user. An EU source revealed to Overkill that “the batteries of gaming handhelds are covered by the batteries and waste batteries regulation.”
Meanwhile, the Council of the EU says that the new legislation “strengthens sustainability rules for batteries and waste batteries,” and will “regulate the entire life cycle of batteries — from production to reuse and recycling — and ensure that they are safe, sustainable and competitive.”
[Source – Overkill]