Guaranteed updates and repairability for smartphones in the EU from June 20

/e/OS Foundation & Community
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On 20 June 2025 there is another EU regulation coming into force - one that hopefully impacts most of us, no matter whether we live in EU or not:

The Eco design and labeling requirements for smartphone, feature phones, cordless landline phones and tablets. The regulation is a bit longer, but highlights are

  • Devices batteries need to last minimum 800 charging cycles and still hold at least 80% of its initial capacity
  • Each phone should have an energy label - making energy consumption transparent
  • Clear criteria for repairability
  • Minimum 5 years of software update (from end of sale of the device).

Further reading: Guaranteed updates and repairability for smartphones in the EU from June 20 | heise online

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I’m in the USA, but I like that the EU is enforcing these new environmental regulations. User-replaceable batteries and better battery longevity are a huge benefit for the consumer as well as a benefit to the environment. I expect OEMs are not going to make regional models only for compliance so we should get the benefit in the USA as well.

Back in the day all cell phones all had user replaceable batteries, but they only lasted around 300 cycles. Over the course of long term ownership I replaced the battery three times on my first cell phone. They’ve improved cycle life a good amount over the years, but then they went to a non-serviceable battery. That’s like one step forward, two steps back.

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