The European Union wants to push for better smartphone battery life and better availability of spare parts

Can you imagine better smartphone battery life on a single charge or better availability of their spare parts? This is the goal the European Union has been working toward these days. And we already know more about the steps being prepared by the EU.

Better battery life or availability of spare parts

The European Commission is trying to improve battery life in the smartphone and tablet segment, as well as the availability of spare parts. In proposals published this week, European regulatory bodies plan to “require” manufacturers to supply at least 15 different spare parts for professional repair. And that for up to five years after the device is put on sale. This will give consumers guaranteed access to spare batteries, displays, or chargers. The parts will also include back covers, SIM/memory card slots.

The proposals are designed to improve the repair quality of smartphones and tablets. And as a result, they should reduce the carbon footprint across Europe. A well-known source, Financial Times, says that extending a smartphone’s life cycle by five years would be the equivalent of removing five million cars from our roads. The EU argues that “forcing” manufacturers to produce more durable and easier-to-repair products should reduce electronic waste. It should also improve the recycling rate and re-use of materials needed to manufacture the devices.

An energy label you may know, for example, from a fridge

If these proposals are adopted across Europe, during this year smartphones and tablets will also get a new energy label. It will work similarly to energy labels on TVs and white goods. You may know it from local retailers in Slovakia and the Czech Republic as well. The label should state the probable battery life of the smartphone or tablet. It will also include information about the device’s resistance to water and dust, and even its resistance to accidental drops.

According to European Union plans, if manufacturers are unable to supply batteries to consumers for five years, their batteries will have to undergo a set of durability tests. These will ensure that devices reach 80% of their capacity even after 1000 full charge cycles. Manufacturers will also be required to ensure that future software updates will in no way have a negative impact on battery life.

What’s interesting is that these regulations will not apply to phones or tablets with a flexible main display. Specifically, these are devices “that the user can partially or fully unroll or roll up”. Smartphones designed for highly secure environments will also be excluded. We don’t know more details yet. However, it’s clear that the new rules will mainly affect cheaper devices—also mid-range devices or so-called higher mid-range smartphones and tablets with a traditional design.

Improving reliability for affordable smartphones and tablets

This proposal builds on an earlier draft from EU lawmakers published at the start of this year, which calls for introducing a universal charger for mobile phones and other devices. At the time, the European Parliament said that unused and discarded chargers create around 11,000 metric tons of electronic waste in Europe every year.

While the preliminary proposals are trying to address repairs of devices and improve their reliability, ECOS (Environmental Coalition on Standards) claims that these proposals don’t go far enough.

“Although the proposals are generally encouraging, they should still be significantly improved,” says ECOS. “The availability and replaceability of certain spare parts place unnecessary limits on so-called self-repairers (repairers of smaller dimensions, ed. note.).”

ECOS, an international and non-governmental organization that promotes environmentally friendly standards, also wants manufacturers to be required, as standard, to provide durable batteries and spare parts—rather than letting them choose between them. “ECOS believes consumers deserve both as a minimum, and not one or the other, as is currently being proposed,” it says in its position paper.

What do you think of the steps being prepared by the European Union? If you have any further questions on this issue, feel free to write them to us below in the discussion under the article. Also follow our website China Planet, sign up for newsletters, and join us in our Facebook group.