You don’t disassemble the entire thing. You remove a few screws and remove the back cover. There are some plastic clips to be mindful of, but side from that, it’s not much harder than upgrading RAM in a laptop.
Compare this to something like an iPhone that is sealed shut with adhesive, and you have to peel off the fragile glass digitizer and screen off. Then remove every component, and the battery is bound to the back of the chassis with adhesive. And Apple wants to sue outlets that actually do this.
I’m not saying it’s hard, and I’m not averse to taking apart my electronics. But “not much harder than upgrading RAM” in a laptop still doesn’t mean it’s a pleasant experience.
Isn’t pretty much everything replaceable in Steam Deck? Including official guides?
Yes, but ideally you can swap the battery without having to disassemble the entire thing.
That’s not what the EU law says, it says it needs to be user replaceable, which means:
I know what it says, that’s why I said “Ideally.”
Is soldering iron a common tool?
I think so, at least I have one.
I have one but failed every time i tried to use it…
You don’t disassemble the entire thing. You remove a few screws and remove the back cover. There are some plastic clips to be mindful of, but side from that, it’s not much harder than upgrading RAM in a laptop.
Compare this to something like an iPhone that is sealed shut with adhesive, and you have to peel off the fragile glass digitizer and screen off. Then remove every component, and the battery is bound to the back of the chassis with adhesive. And Apple wants to sue outlets that actually do this.
Totally different game.
I’m not saying it’s hard, and I’m not averse to taking apart my electronics. But “not much harder than upgrading RAM” in a laptop still doesn’t mean it’s a pleasant experience.
What would you prefer? Hot-swappable batteries add bulk 🙂