EU Won’t Require User-Replaceable Batteries for Smartwatches and Fitness Trackers

The EU Commission announced new exemptions yesterday to its Batteries Regulation, which will soon require that portable batteries in products sold in the EU be removable and user-replaceable. This will soon affect consumer products such as the Nintendo Switch 2, which will be redesigned in the EU version to include replaceable batteries, including in the detachable Joy-Con 2 controllers.

The purpose of the EU’s Batteries Regulation is to extend the longevity of products with built-in batteries. However, the EU Commission acknowledged that for safety reasons, some products can’t have user-replaceable batteries. That includes medical devices, electric toothbrushes, water flossers, and other devices.

Yesterday, the Commission announced that new product categories would be exempted from complying with its Batteries Regulation, including wearable devices such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart glasses. This will likely be good news for companies like Apple, Google, Samsung, and Meta, which won’t have to redesign their devices to include user-replaceable batteries for consumers in the EU market.

The EU’s Batteries Regulation will come into effect in February 2027, which is when Nintendo plans to stop selling all models of the original Nintendo Switch in the EU. While Nintendo had no choice but to redesign its handheld console to keep selling it in the EU, it probably didn’t make sense for the company to put in the same effort for the OG Switch, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in March 2027.