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See the original image at iphoneatlas.com

iPhone 3G’s screws may indicate 'User-Replaceable Battery'

iphoneatlas.com — Two small screws on the bottom of the device on either side of the standard docking connector is a stark design change from a company that is known for hiding screws from sight on their handheld devices. Some have speculated that the screws may be removed for replacement of the battery and other components.

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  • Warbick, on 07/03/2008, -0/+37This would be nice, but I'm somehow still doubtful.
    • akhomerun, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1i wonder why then they wouldn't use security screws if they didn't want you to replace something in there.
  • wontstoptalking, on 07/03/2008, -0/+28Would Apple dare abandon their seamless, perfectly smooth, beautiful, practically one piece machine just to be able to replace a battery? I really hope so. And, if it's screws, then it can still be almost seamless, like how it is now.
  • dmcbride6, on 07/04/2008, -0/+21The more likely answer is that it is due to the plastic backing rather than aluminum.

    Recall the MacBook had/has extra screws on its right side just to look congruent with the left side...even though they do not actually screw into anything.
    • NerveBand, on 07/05/2008, -5/+3Link?
    • DEIx15x8, on 07/06/2008, -1/+1Exactly, the MacBook is completely screw less yet it has several screws that look identical to the iPhone's. They are all just to make it look nicer. It breaks up the solid plastic appearance and makes it look stronger even though it has no real effect.
      • Karmavs, on 07/07/2008, -0/+1The MacBook does need *some* of its screws. The extra ones are for symmetry. Its likely that only one screw is really needed for the iPhone.
  • Ludzer, on 07/04/2008, -11/+1I dunno...

    I'd rather have it seamless....I'm fine with just docking it when it needs recharging even if that does mean it might die when I'm out and about.

    Maybe it's just Apple screwing with us like Schillers greasy fingerprint/front-facing camera trick!
    • luet, on 07/05/2008, -0/+7you obviously don't understand that batteries at some point stop holding a charge
    • badjoke, on 07/05/2008, -1/+2I think the people complaining about the lack of removable batteries are mainly business folk. When you're traveling a bunch with no time to recharge fully, it'd be nice to have a spare you could swap in when needed. Like an extra laptop battery for a long plane flight.
      • TimmyGUNZ, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1As a consumer, it would be a nice "peace of mind" thing to throw an extra battery in your bag "just in case." If anything, business folk who travel a lot will probably just charge it with their laptop.
  • celkin, on 07/05/2008, -3/+22Sources predict that it may possibly sometimes might probably be somewhat confirmed...maybe.
    • Daniel591992, on 07/05/2008, -2/+6[citation needed]
    • toetagger, on 07/05/2008, -1/+2My aunt was playing bingo with a guy who heard that!
  • pond70, on 07/05/2008, -4/+27thats were the tiny Steve Jobs comes out at night and feeds on your young ....
  • mCanada, on 07/05/2008, -1/+86That's the credit card slot for the Rogers models.
  • fanboydcs, on 07/05/2008, -1/+2Most likely needed so the plastic back does not come off, the older design had screws under the plastic base and the plastic base was clipped on. Apple will most likely not sell a battery and do what they always do and replace the entire device for 70 bucks.. Not a bad deal
    • jakem1, on 07/05/2008, -1/+4That sounds way more convenient than just popping in a cheap second battery.
  • j1a1g1, on 07/05/2008, -0/+11Even if the battery is user replaceable, its not that convenient to carry around an extra battery and screwdriver when your battery goes dead on long trips. If apple intended it to really be user replaceable, the iPhone would have a standard cover like other phones.
    • macslut, on 07/05/2008, -2/+8And then the iPhone would be considerably bigger. The screw rumor is false. There's not enough room in the new iPhone for a user replaceable battery, and the screw option would be a nightmare with lost screws, stripping, bad contacts, and as you point out the general hassle as compared to using any of the external batteries available today for the iPhone.

      Edit: A user replaceable battery requires that the battery have a protective case around it that the current battery doesn't have. It would also need protected contacts as opposed to the current soldered wires, and the iPhone itself would need more plastic protection for where the battery slides in as well as contacts. This is why the iPhone would need to be bigger.
  • LindaPicks, on 07/05/2008, -1/+10This theory was answered by a statement on iphoneatlas.com itself. I'm glad I found the site thanks to DIGG though.

    Posted by gsagi--2008
    3 July 2008 @ 2am

    What if there are no screws?
    The demo was shot with an early pre-production model and the final version is as smooth and elegant as EVE with a sealed-in battery.
    Cheers!
  • juju2682, on 07/05/2008, -4/+13If the battery was able to be replaced I'm sure Jobs would have touted this as a "Feature" .
  • Elderon, on 07/05/2008, -5/+9I try my hardest to refuse to buy anything with a non-replaceable battery. Nothing pisses me off more than having devices brick themselves because the battery won't hold a charge or goes dead and I either have to fix it myself which voids the warranty or spend time and money waiting for the manufacturer to fix it and hope that it's still under warranty.

    Apple can use whatever fancy schmancy battery they want to but please please please make it something consumers can purchase and replace themselves while keeping the warranty intact.
    • SPECOPS, on 07/05/2008, -4/+1You mean like the end-user replacing the battery with some cheap ass POS that explodes, then Apple still being liable for your burns? I don't think so. They have it set to void the warranty and make it difficult for a reason beyond profits.
      • jakem1, on 07/05/2008, -0/+6That's not a problem for any other phone manufacturer so why is it a problem for Apple? All they have to do is sell there own batteries and advise users to stick to those. It's not that difficult.
  • johnpaul191, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2The thing is released in less than a week. All the speculation articles, and links from blogs, baiting for clicks do get kind of old. I would love to read actual info about the iPhone and app store, but yeeeesh. It just seems like you set yourself up to be wrong and lose cred.
    The article has some other info most people probably know about the Rev B model, but enough with the screws. As somebody that likes to open things up, i'm glad to see em..... but you KNOW that by friday night we will have at least one popular site ripping apart the phone and posting detailed pix online. We will know everything friday night or saturday morning..... now please go watch some fireworks or have a cookout.
  • Debdrup, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1The thing that bothers me about it is that if they DIDN'T want user-replaceable batteries, they could easily have covered up the screws with a bit of plastic. Just sink the screws a little and cover it, can be made seamless quite easy with todays fabrication methods.

    That being said, does the editor of iPhone Atlas not read and proofread the articles? There are several mistakes which are too common and should be noticed in any proof-reading.

    Just my two cents.
  • superkendall, on 07/05/2008, -7/+2Still have no idea why people get so worked up over user replaceable batteries on a phone, when you can just as easily take a small portable power pack with you that's hardly larger than a normal cell phone battery. You use that on a plane or wherever, and when done your phone still has a full charge.

  • CLShortFuse, on 07/05/2008, -4/+10The battery cover on the HTC Kaiser / AT&T Tilt is ridiculously thin (probably as thick as a paperclip) and has a fully replaceable battery. If the iPhone doesn't have a removable cover, it has nothing to do with aesthetics.
    The idea of not having a hot swappable battery is simply for limiting the lifetime of the product and rather than pay for the service fee of replacing the battery, people just buy the next generation product.
    • mike17032, on 07/05/2008, -13/+1You are wrong, in several ways.
      • CLShortFuse, on 07/05/2008, -0/+10I love how that's the extent of your argument. There is no intelligent though put into your response, just simply:
        "I don't like your comment" ::bury::
    • Karmavs, on 07/07/2008, -1/+1HTC Kaiser Dimensions: 112x59x19mm
      iPhone Dimensions:115.5x62.1x12.3mm. At the thickest point.

      Its not just the plastic cover on the back that makes the phone larger with a replaceable battery. Its the need for a another case around the battery itself. Its the need for protected metal contacts for the battery. It's also the need for a mechanism to easily remove the back of the device. There's no way to do the 'invisibly' and thus, it WILL impact aesthetics.
      • CLShortFuse, on 07/07/2008, -0/+1The Kaiser was a demonstration. Without you even looking at the Kaiser, you've already made your poor assumptions that it's the small hooks in the plastic that give it the increased size (which it isn't, it's the damn QWERTY)
        But fine. Now explain how the HTC Diamond has a higher resolution screen (VGA), 3.5-HSPDA, also with GPS, removable battery and back cover and is still THINNER than the iPhone.

        It seems like HTC must have done the impossible.
  • sesstreets, on 07/05/2008, -3/+5Its funny how this wonderful and powerful phone designed to be user friendly and give the user abilities they've never had before, but it might not have a feature that every other phone has.
  • cruzer2727, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1I'm guessing the screws are to replace the plastic cover.
  • TheWorm, on 07/05/2008, -0/+23G iPhone does not look very good at all from that angle.
    • liuping, on 07/05/2008, -0/+2I like the metal "grill" instead of the "holes in plastic" the old model. It's also supposed to have much better volume as a result.
  • pyrates, on 07/05/2008, -1/+3I'll take a user replaceable battery if it means the iPhone is a little thicker. Every other cell phone has a user replaceable battery, so should the iPhone. If the battery is not user replaceable, this is an example where looks have been favored over functionality.
    • ieure, on 07/06/2008, -3/+5“Every other cell phone has a user replaceable battery, so should the iPhone.”

      Right. Because the only way the iPhone will succeed is by imitating it’s competition.

      Stop fetishizing user-replaceable batteries. Know why the iPhone doesn’t have one? Because /they suck/. The cover falls off at inopportune times. The latch breaks. If you drop the phone, it explodes into pieces (SIM, battery, cover, phone body) which you must locate, then reassemble. The iPhone will /never/ have a user-replaceable battery. Ever. Nor the iPod. Apple is making entire /computers/ with sealed batteries now; there is no going back.

      If you don’t like it, don’t buy one. Simple. But stop the incessant mealy-mouthed bleating about it. It will never happen.
    • mrBitch, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3RE: "I'll take a user replaceable battery if it means the iPhone is a little thicker. "

      On principle, I agree with you. However, my last three phones all suffered from the issue where the battery would slide out of the phone or lose contact so that the phone just turned itself off.

      My current Samsung does not suffer from this issue, but it has happened to so many of my previous phones that I now would PREFER that the damn battery just stays in the damn phone without popping out all the time.
  • Stefanos1990, on 07/05/2008, -2/+0Removing screws when you want to quickly change the battery takes too much time.
  • kenvsryu, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1Are you dumb?
  • MaceSoul, on 07/05/2008, -1/+1Oh well that's conveient. Because when I'm on a bus and I need to change the battery on my cell, I know the first thing on my mind is finding my little screw driver and then removing two microscopic screws and opening a sarcophagus of electronics while going over potholes.
  • kreatre2007, on 07/05/2008, -0/+1This would be nice. I haven't had any battery problems with my current iPhone but, it has always been a drawback that I can't replace the battery on my own.
  • foxmajik, on 07/06/2008, -0/+5It's a sad state of affairs when Apple customers are *fantasizing* about being able to replace their phone's battery.
    • Karmavs, on 07/07/2008, -0/+2If *that's* what people are wanting from the iPhone the most; I think Apple's done a pretty good job.
  • tibe, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1or, they changed where the sim card goes...
  • akhomerun, on 07/06/2008, -1/+1the fact that they aren't security screws makes me think that it is indeed the case that you can replace something in there.

    whether it's just a new way to switch out the gsm card or a way to switch out the battery is of course a mystery.
  • 3vno, on 07/06/2008, -1/+2did hell just freeze over?
  • yabos, on 07/06/2008, -2/+2More likely is that they just want it to be a little easier to replace for their own service people.
  • betasp, on 07/06/2008, -1/+4I wish I kept a gadget long enough to have to worry about the battery not holding a charge anymore.
    • dariusperkins, on 07/07/2008, -0/+1be careful what you wish for, friend.
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