alexispurslane
commented
1 year ago YESSSS. This. I honestly think System 76's main market is people who would otherwise probably be buying Thinkpads for their Linux hardware support, repairability, and upgradeability (that's true of me), so I think the doubling down on that repairability and upgradeability angle by introducing detachable batteries would be an awesome and very smart move. Something that I personally would appreciate a lot as well. I think the ideal setup would be:
- A small internal battery to keep the laptop running while you swap the detachable battery,
- A much larger detachable battery that slides out of the back or bottom of the machine with a latching mechanism, which makes up the bulk of the battery life.
This kind of design would ensure that System 76 laptops last longer, because you can more easily replace old and worn out batteries, make hot swapping a battery when you need extended battery life possible, and create the really cool option of an extended battery that sticks out past the case, further than the default detachable battery does, if people want extended battery life at the cost of more weight/size/ugliness (a tradeoff I'd happily make). That's both another product they could sell which might make them money, and a good way to make up for the fact that the batteries they distribute in some of their laptops are pretty small (like the Oryx Pro I have).
Why/User Benefit/User Problem
For people who have to do field work (for example, entomologists in the Amazon, botanists in the Himalayas,...) it's not always possible to be within reasonable range of power infrastructure, for us it is often easier to pack an extra battery and swap it out.
Description of the feature
The battery would ideally be replaceable without the need for specialized tools.