People are generally willing to make sacrifices for something they think is better, but if you’re not willing to sacrifice a removable battery, here are the best Android phones with removable battery.
The Best Android Phones with Removable Battery
From Removable to Fixed
To suit the market’s ever-changing needs, an increasing number of firms decided to ditch the removable batteries off their smartphone offerings. Why? We’re not sure either, but from an engineering perspective, a non-removable battery offers a slimmer phone design and a much more compact waterproofing design. Everything comes with a cost, and to have a narrow-sized and waterproof phone, you have to give up the versatility of a removable battery. Keeping that in mind, it’s not surprising to see removable battery-toting smartphones lose their momentum in today’s industry. However, some tech companies still stubbornly resisted the fixed battery bandwagon and have continued to create Android phones with removable battery For those who have also resisted this trend, I have assembled a list of five of the best Android phones that flaunt a removable battery. Although some of them are not new, all of them are still relevant to this year.
The 10 Best Android Phones with Removable Battery
As of this writing, there aren’t many available choices that feature a removable battery for smartphones. Most brands have already embraced the non-removable battery to alleviate sales and prevent consumers from messing up or tinkering too much with their smartphones.
1. LG V20
The LG V20 was one of the Android phones that dominated the market and brought new technology to the smartphone field in 2016. It’s still by far capable enough and powerful enough that it can match the latest handsets of today. It features a full metal aluminium body, a 5.7 inches IPS screen display, corning gorilla 4, a 2.1 inches secondary display for notifications, a Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 Adreno 530, internal storage of either 32 or 64 GB, and a 4 GB RAM. Outside of the hood, it features a 3 camera, with one being a selfie. The internal storage is expandable via a MicroSD card and has a removable Li-Ion 3200 mAh battery. Although there’s no waterproofing on board, the LG V20 boasts a MIL-STD-810G certification for durability.
2. Moto E4
When Lenovo acquired Motorola in 2014, one of the best Android phone that Motorola ever released then was Moto E4. This handset has a removable 2800mAh battery and was priced under $100 mark which should be cheaper with today’s standard. The Moto E4 features a 5 inches IPS screen display, Mediatek MT6737 quad-core processor, Mali-T720 GPU, 16GB internal storage, 2GB RAM, and expandable storage of up to 128GB via MicroSD card. So this phone is still very much worth considering today’s standard, especially for first-time users.
3. LG V10
Another model coming from LG is the LG V10. Despite being an inferior model compared to the V20, the V10 is still a reliable phone most especially with its selling price today. It has a removable 3000mAh battery with expandable storage of up to 256GB via a MicroSD card. The LG V10 features Qualcomm MSM8992 Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor, the top-of-the-line 20nm processor back then, and Adreno 418 GPU to run the graphics. The V10 also features a secondary 2.1 inches display for notification and corning gorilla glass 4. In terms of design, V10 was more of a rugged look Android phone with durability in mind. It has a solid metal frame and stainless steel sides.
4. LG G5
Another handset coming for the big Korean brand giant, LG, is the LG G5. The G5 was the brands’ attempt for modular smartphone designs but it ended up backfiring to the company as the sales of G5 cost the brand to pull out from the smartphone business in some countries. However, the LG G5 is considerably the best Android smartphone with a removable battery and modular accessories with LG Hi-Fi Plus. Wide Angle Lens, and LG CAM Plus. The LG G5 features a removable 2800mAh battery, Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor, Adreno 530, 32 GB Internal storage expandable up to 1TV via MicroSD Card, and Corning Gorilla Glass 4.
5. Samsung Galaxy S5
The first Samsung model in our list is the Samsung Galaxy S5. The S5 was probably the last model in the Galaxy S series that featured a removable battery. Additionally, it also did feature an odd water-proofing technology. The S5 is powered by a 2800mAh replaceable battery that’s sitting nicely at the helm The rest of the specifications include a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display and a Snapdragon 801 SoC. RAM is 2GB while the 16GB storage offers further memory expansion to suit your needs more. Camera-wise, the Galaxy S5 sports a single 16MP rear sensor and a 2MP front shooter. It runs on Android 4.4 KitKat OS out-of-the-box and is upgradable to Android Nougat.
6. Nokia 2.2
Next on our list is a handset unit that came from a brand that dominated the market of smartphones back then, the Nokia 2.2. This device featured the latest technology available in 2019. Despite featuring the trendiest design nowadays for smartphones, the brand still considered having a removable battery that most will approve of and will have no complaints about. The Nokia 2.2 features a 5.7 inches IPS display screen, Mediatek MT6761 Helio A22 quad-core processor, PowerVR GE8320 GPU, 32 GB, 3 RAM or 16 GB, 2 GB RAM, microSD, up to 400 GB, and Android 9.0 (Pie); Android One. And of course, a removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery.
7. Samsung Galaxy J7 Duo
Samsung continuously dominated the high-end smartphone market with its flagship models but its a different story regarding the entry-level to mid-range market. The brand then started introducing back the removable battery feature to appeal to the customers with the Samsung Galaxy J series. The Samsung Galaxy J7 Duo is the latest in the J-series, in features Android 9.0, 5.7 inches IPS screen display, Mediatek MT6761 Helio A22 quad-core processor, PowerVR GE8320, 32 GB, 3 RAM or 16 GB, 2 GB RAM, and a card slot for microSD, up to 400 GB.
8. LG Tribute Empire
Going back to LG, we have yet another model from the brand that features a removable battery, the LG Tribute Empire. Despite the odd scheming name, the LG Empire Tribute was launched in the market in January 2019. The Empire Tribute features Android 8.1, 5 inches IPS display, Mediatek MT6750 octa-core, Mali-T860MP2 GPU, 16 GB, 2 GB RAM, and a card slot for microSD, up to 32 GB. And of course, a removable Li-Ion 2500 mAh battery. Unfortunately, one of the issues that most will encounter who wants to purchase this phone is its availability. You might want to check the manufacturer’s website for availability.
9. Nokia 1 Plus
Another model coming from Nokia is the Nokia 1 Plus. The Nokia 1 Plus is one of the latest Android smartphone models from Nokia. It was launched last March 2019 and comes with Android 9 out of the box. Additionally, it features a 5.45 inches IPS display, Mediatek MT6739WW quad-core processor, PowerVR GE8100, 8/16 GB, 1 GB RAM, and a card slot for microSD, up to 128 GB (uses shared SIM slot). And of course, a removable Li-Ion 2500 mAh battery. The body is mostly plastic and the display doesn’t feature corning gorilla glass.
10. Samsung Galaxy Xcover 4s
Last but not least, we have the Samsung Galaxy XCover 4S. The XCover 4S features Android 9, IP68 dust/waterproof (up to 1.5m for 30 mins), MIL-STD-810G compliant, Exynos 7885 Octa-core (2×1.6 GHz Cortex-A73 & 6×1.6 GHz Cortex-A53), 32 GB, 3 GB RAM, and a card slot for microSD, up to 1 TB (dedicated slot). Additionally, it features a single back camera and a single front camera. And of course, a removable Li-Ion 2800 mAh battery. The XCover 4S is is gonna be the only Android smartphone in our list that’s designed for outdoor use. It has a rugged design, an easy-to-grip, non-slip finish, IP68* and MIL-STD 810G* standards so it is durable enough to withstand harsh conditions and has an NFC integration which is great.
Android Phones with Removable Battery: Should they stay?
While it seems like removable battery-equipped phones are a dying breed, there are still some which remained relevant over the years. You don’t have to give upbringing extra batteries when engaging in outdoor activities! All you need is to choose well and you’re good to go. Why do you prefer a removable battery? Do you know of another great Android phone with a removable battery? Let me know in the comments!
