I think 90% chance of apple going for the EU-Specific model just like they did for Digital markets act, 10 chance of screws, 0% chance of actually popping the back cover off with bare hands.
For Samsung, 50% chance EU-Specific models 40% chance screws, 10% chance back cover tool-less removal. (Edit: typo)
As for other smaller manufacturers, probably just 50%/50% either screws or tool-less back cover removal.
One thing to note is that Apple will only replace the battery if the phone turns on. If the battery stops taking a charge and won’t turn on, they’ll tell you to get a new phone.
If the phone doesn’t turn on then there’s something more than just the battery, and a new one won’t do any good.
While the phone not turning on can indicate other issues, sometimes it’s just the battery.
Thought it was dankpods, but it was his mechanic James:
https://youtu.be/IpT7h8VJX-0
It’s generally not just the battery though. A battery going completely dead in a recent mobile phone and not holding any charge whatsoever or even functioning is extremely rare.