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.
When I talked with friends or family no one ever mentioned wanting a replaceable battery…always just the new big screen, the camera or the speed. Some didn’t even understand the difference between having 4GB of RAM or 4GB of storage.
I’d like to be wrong but I think most people don’t really care and some will even complain about it.
Last time I bought a phone was around 3 years ago and when I asked about a new phone with a replaceable battery the guy just looked at me and asked “Why would you want that?”
I’m pretty tech savvy and I can’t say that it’s a feature I particularly care about. I carry a battery pack with my for various devices and by the time my battery is dying, it’s time for a new phone anyway.