As far as I know it should be pretty easy for Apple to comply with the regulation. The battery needs to be replaceable with standard or freely available tools and without adhesives. Many of Apple’s devices already meet this standard.

Edit: I'm not sure on the adhesives part. Apple uses an electrically-releasable adhesive in some of their newer products. The MacBook Neo doesn't use battery adhesive at all.

There are considerations in the law for water proofing, device safety, and battery durability (maintaining 80% capacity at 1000 cycles, which Apple already does). They do not require a pop open battery door on every device like it's 2005 again.

Apple already provides repair tools, guides, and replacement parts both to end users and third party technicians.

These regulations are complicated, but they aren't new and Apple isn't being blindsided with some catastrophe here.

To be clear, replaceable battery doesn't mean a lid like phones used to have. It means that you should be able to take the device apart with simple tools and remove the battery and pop in another one.

It actually probably affects other phone companies more than it affects Apple, as some of the others have very poor repairability

The battery thing doesn’t apply to water resistant devices, so doesn’t matter for iPhone/Apple Watch.

There’s rumors that upcoming iPad models are water resistant, I suspect that’s the motivation for it.

The Microsoft Lumia 540 looks remarkably like a modern phone still and it had a fairly easily replaceable battery, because it allowed you to replace the back cover.

There's also the Lumia 920, which is arguably a nicer looking phone than anything Apple current have, also have a fairly easily replaceable battery, requiring you to remove just two screws.

Didn't the Apple Faithful say the same for usb-c?

The iPhone 4 was easily disassembled with screwdrivers...

[dead]