Apple’s Secret Plan to Permanently Change iPhone Batteries

In the near future, replacing an iPhone battery will no longer be a risky, complicated, and messy operation with glue everywhere. According to The Information, Apple is studying a new technology that will allow users to more easily remove the battery from their iPhone, making replacements and repairs more convenient.

Here’s the lowdown straight from the horse’s mouth: “The new technology, known as electrically induced adhesive release, involves wrapping the battery in metal, rather than foil as is currently the case. This would allow people to dislodge the battery from the chassis by giving it a small electric shock, the sources said.

Apple has decided to change its mind on the glue problem that has irritated professional repairers and DIY enthusiasts for years. Even the folks at iFixit had to write an entire article titled “Why Electronics Need Glue – and Why They Shouldn’t” to shed light on the situation.

“On a 2020 model iPhone, this process can take up to two hours of disassembly, an hour to clean up liquid corrosion damage, and then another hour of application to replace the adhesive. This is not an easy solution,” the article notes.

Why Apple does this

Why is this situation happening today? It is the fault of the EU and its crusade for sustainability and a cleaner future. Last year, the European Commission notified the Battery Regulation, which aims, among other things, to manage the situation more responsibly and in a way that does not worsen the problem of electronic waste. Here are the basic principles:

1. Targets for recycling efficiency, material recovery and recycled content will be gradually introduced from 2025. All used batteries collected must be recycled and high recovery levels must be achieved.
2. Starting in 2027, consumers will be able to remove and replace portable batteries from their electronic products at any point in the life cycle.
3. Portable batteries incorporated in devices must be easily removable and replaceable by the end user or independent operators during the lifetime of the device, if the batteries have a shorter lifetime than the device, or at the latest at the end of the lifetime of the device.

“It is a great success for the right to repair that all new portable devices and lightweight means of transport placed on the market will now have to be designed with replaceable batteries,” said Cristina Ganapini, coordinator of the Right to Repair ( Europe). SO. You can read the full proposal here (PDF).

A little ionic magic

So how does Apple’s use of the “electrically induced adhesive debonding” conundrum work? Adhesives that can form strong bonds while allowing for quick, convenient separation powered by electricity are in high demand. Such technology is particularly useful in emergency situations or for components that require frequent disassembly, says a research paper published in the journal Materials Today Communications.

The electrical and electronics industries have a pressing need for electro-removable adhesives to enable the installation and maintenance of fragile electronic components. Using conductive adhesives that react to electricity to attach components to printed circuit boards would greatly simplify the process of removing and replacing defective components.

An additional advantage of these adhesives is their ability to be activated remotely, eliminating the need for direct physical contact with the parts being bonded. Currently, the glues used in smartphone assembly require high temperatures to melt and remove. The technique described above does the same job, but uses an electrical stimulus instead of heat.

Switching to electricity offers a promising solution that avoids many challenges. This method relies on adding ionic components, such as dissolved salts or ionic liquids, into the adhesive mixture. These additives add ionic conductivity to the glue and, therefore, it becomes sensitive to electrical stimulation.

Voltage-activated debonding can reduce the risk of mechanical, thermal, or chemical damage to a phone’s internal components. However, the entire approach requires the use of conductive substrates such as metals or materials that can be coated with a conductive layer.

Once there, the debonding process can be initiated by applying a voltage across the two bonded surfaces. These electrically sensitive adhesives are currently attracting great interest in the aerospace and electronics segments due to their potential applications and advantages over traditional bonding methods. iPhones could become the largest users of this promising technology in the near future.

You can learn more about the process of electrical adhesion and debonding at the microscopic level in this research paper published in the journal Advanced Materials Interfaces here, and this fantastic thesis has been submitted to the Swedish School of Science and Technology chemical engineering Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan. . You can read more about the whole technique in the context of recycling at the Royal Society of Chemistry.