It had been in the works for a while, but now it has formally been adopted. From the article:
The regulation provides that by 2027 portable batteries incorporated into appliances should be removable and replaceable by the end-user, leaving sufficient time for operators to adapt the design of their products to this requirement.
only 2 models and the “cheap” one is more than I paid for the last two phones I had, combined. what percentage of the market do they have?
I am not sure about the percentage of the market. It’s a standard Android without the bloat so compatibility is there. Price is not that expensive when compared to industry leaders but even if you do consider it expensive that’s the reality of the matter when you want to buy a device which is made with materials whose production didn’t exploit child labor or someone’s misery.
Company has a fairly clear goal and is focused towards that. They want to reduce waste by allowing device to be disassembled and repaired at home, while at the same time providing spare parts years after device production has ended. And along the way make sure materials and labor are all fair trade and fair employment. Take a look at their “our mission” and “our impact” pages. They list every supplier for each of the parts and materials. They even offer recycling your old devices for you.