Say goodbye to planned obsolescence! The European Commission is working on a bill to make mobile devices more durable, extending the time it takes to track updates and making repairs easier.
Electronic devices have a significant impact on the environment. A study of the’Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe) and of the Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority (Arcep) revealed that screens – televisions, tablets, smartphones, etc. – represent 2.5% of the carbon footprint in France. This is why it is essential to make their design more sustainable, in order to avoid premature and unnecessary renewal of equipment that is still functional. It is the famous programmed obsolescence which generates the multiplication of electronic waste – and therefore of pollution.
The European Commission tackles this problemrecognizing that smartphones and tablets “are often replaced prematurely by users” and are not “not sufficiently used or recycled.” A situation that has a cost in terms of resources used and waste. The European Commission estimates that extending the lifespan of these devices from 2-3 years to 5 years would mean taking up to 5 million cars out of circulation – transport being one of the major causes of the pollution – as reported by the FinancialTimes. A decision that is part of the European Union’s overall project to achieve a circular economy by 2050 – i.e. avoiding extracting scarce resources to manufacture products that become waste, but rather transforming these last ones to manufacture a new generation of products.
A software update extended to 5 years
First, Europe wants to establish a minimum duration for software updates. Indeed, after a while, the manufacturer no longer updates the operating system (OS) or security patches. – some applications become incompatible and security vulnerabilities are no longer corrected, which exposes you to risks. A situation that is seen as an incentive to change aircraft well before its end of life. The policy of the updates provided depends on the manufacturers (see our practical sheet of the best smartphone brands on this subject) and the models, and, if most have made efforts in recent years, the European Commission does not consider them sufficient. For an Android device, she wants to go to three years of major updates (Android 13, 14…) and five years of security patches. All should be deployed within two to four months of release.
A policy already partly applied by Apple and Samsung – which offers four years of Android updates and five years of security for its Galaxy smartphones (Z, S and Tab), and four years of Android and security for its others models. Google, with the launch of the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, increased the duration of security patches to five years. On the other hand, for other manufacturers, it varies enormously from one model to another, especially for entry-level smartphones which are penalized – with an average of about two Android updates and three security updates.
Easily replaceable parts
The European Commission also wants smartphone manufacturers and sellers to make parts and repair services available to make smartphones last longer, by simply replacing the faulty part instead of changing the whole device – and thus reducing waste. That’s why they will have to make these parts – battery, camera, screen, button, microphone, speaker, hinge – and services available for at least five years after the date the smartphone is withdrawn from the market.
As for the battery, they must either be removable – as was the case before – or retain at least 83% of their nominal capacity after 500 charge cycles, and 80% after 1,000 cycles. And there is still work to do to get there! On his support, Apple explains that a “normal” battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity after 500 full charge cycles – but it offers to change it for a fee. On the Android side, it depends on the manufacturer. For Oppo/OnePlus, the battery of some of its models, such as the Find X5 Pro, the Reno 8 or the OnePlus 10T, retain at least 80% of their capacity after 1,600 charge cycles – around 4 years of use. This desire follows the decision of the European Union to impose USB-C connectivity on all devices in 2024 – a constraint which could easily apply to the rest of the world, the manufacturers not going to build a model specially for Europe, which is an important market.
Measures that really raise objections
This bill is still at the very beginning of its development, especially as it continues to be the subject of discussions – some states, such as Germany, want to impose seven years of updates – and it will take time before the vote and then its application take place. It is mainly aimed at entry-level and mid-range smartphones, which do not receive the same attention as premium models – at the same time, it is better to think twice before shelling out 1,800 euros. Nevertheless, some are skeptical about the application and consequences of such measures. On the one hand, this risks increasing the cost of the devices since it will be necessary to make investments – investments which will therefore affect the final price of the devices. Second, this field is changing very quickly, and some functions introduced by new operating system updates may not work on older products. Ditto on the side of the computing capacity of old mobile processors, which could create slowdowns or impossibilities to operate. A bill to be refined and detailed.