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The EU Proposes New Mobile Device Regulation to Extend Product Life Time

TheLostSwede

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Around 20 years ago, most people replaced their phones on a yearly basis in some countries, largely due to the fact that if you signed the right mobile service contract, you got a free phone. These days, it's not nearly as common to get a free device with your service, but then again, mobile service contracts also tend to cost much less these days in many countries. As such, people retain their devices longer, which has put the device upgrade cycle somewhere around the two or three year mark. Now the EU is proposing new regulations that will force the mobile device makers to re-think the current status quo, as the European Commission regulators are considering asking mobile device makers to offer not just better battery life, but also spare part availability for as long as five years after a device was launched.

When it comes to battery life, the EU Commission is intending to offer the device manufacturers two options. The first is that they'll have to offer batteries that can deliver 83 percent of their rated capacity after 500 charging cycles, followed by 80 percent capacity after 1000 charging cycles. Alternatively, they can offer replacement batteries and phone back covers to its end-user customers, so they can replace their batteries once the batteries no longer hold charge that meets the owners expectations.




The spare parts program is tied to "professional repairers" which suggests that third party repair shops will be on the table. The manufacturers will have to provide key parts, such as batteries, displays, cameras, charging ports, mechanical buttons, microphones, speakers and hinge assemblies for a period of at least five years. End consumers should also be given access to replacement displays, as well as SIM and memory card trays, microphones, charging ports and hinge mechanisms, for a time period of at least seven years from the last marketing day of the device. This suggests that phone parts could be available for some eight to nine years after a new model has been introduced.

Furthermore, the EU Commission is proposing at least five years of security updates and three years of "functionality updates". However, these updates should be seen as an extension to the current OS updates and security patches, which should see most phone makers having to offer updates well beyond the two or three years we're seeing from most Android device makers today. The EU is currently collecting feedback on its proposal and anyone can submit comments until the 28th of September. If the EU Commission decides to go ahead with the proposal, it's not expected to be approved until sometime in the fourth quarter of this year and it's unlikely to be written into law until the end of 2023.

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"The first is that they'll have to offer batteries that can deliver 83 percent of their rated capacity after 500 charging cycles, followed by 80 percent capacity after 1000 charging cycles."

I would prefer a battery with higher energy density = longer battery life = less number of charges = +durability
 
I want just cheap batteries, 40-50$ for new smartphone batterie with 5000mah is ridiculous. I can get 10 qualitative 18650 with 3400mah for this money, I doubt the form factor to make the bateries 7-8 times more expensive, this is just milking
 
Had my pixel 1 for nearly 5 years. Changed battery in it once. Had my pixel 4 for 2 years now, changed the back and the battery £35.

See no reason to change it whilst it's working.
 
Well, the EU likes to ask first, before enforcing things by making it a law.
Well, if businesses say no, they'll resort to making overreaching laws anyway. It's not like this is anything new to be honest and is pretty typical of the EU.
 
Had my pixel 1 for nearly 5 years. Changed battery in it once. Had my pixel 4 for 2 years now, changed the back and the battery £35.

See no reason to change it whilst it's working.
Software support is an issue with many phones, which is also something the EU wants to address. In your case, obviously not as much of an issue.
 
It's not like this is anything new to be honest and is pretty typical of the EU.
Yes, but in this case the EU is trying to do something right and good for the world. Electronic waste is a big problem and the cycle of people upgrading their phones every year or every other year is unacceptable. The EU wants device makers to engineer their devices to last 4 to 5 years or longer. Devices take a lot of resources to make. If they lasted longer, we could cut e-waste of mobile devices in half or more. This is the goal. They want to make companies that claim to be "green" to actually live up to their claims. I fully support the EU on this one and genuinely wish the US would do the same thing.

Software support is an issue with many phones, which is also something the EU wants to address.
It really wouldn't be that difficult.
 
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"The first is that they'll have to offer batteries that can deliver 83 percent of their rated capacity after 500 charging cycles, followed by 80 percent capacity after 1000 charging cycles."

I would prefer a battery with higher energy density = longer battery life = less number of charges = +durability

They went down that route already consumers rejected this simple no duh solution because it made their phones too chunky or added a buldge, we're talking a 1-3mm increase over a standard capacity battery. Undeterred by this conundrum phonemakers went back to the drawing board, and BAM! The phablet is born. Now consumers complain about ever increasing screen sizes.
 
Software support is an issue with many phones, which is also something the EU wants to address. In your case, obviously not as much of an issue.
True, it really shouldn't be though especially with the big two mobile OS solutions.
While Microsoft is often called out for support they do enable at least five years of support and in general can be made to work on any generation hardware for 5/10 year's.

I approve EU, but I am no longer European cause of fools so in all likelihood this will mean little to me unfortunately.
 
I want just cheap batteries, 40-50$ for new smartphone batterie with 5000mah is ridiculous. I can get 10 qualitative 18650 with 3400mah for this money, I doubt the form factor to make the bateries 7-8 times more expensive, this is just milking
What prevents you from not buying expensive solutions? Vote with your wallet!
 
Hi,
Batteries show age pretty fast
Your lucky if it works well after two years so yeah batteries need better tech.

Solar batteries to.
 
True, it really shouldn't be though especially with the big two mobile OS solutions.
While Microsoft is often called out for support they do enable at least five years of support and in general can be made to work on any generation hardware for 5/10 year's.

I approve EU, but I am no longer European cause of fools so in all likelihood this will mean little to me unfortunately.
We have reached a time where we no longer control technology. It controls us. In more ways some are willing to admit.
 
Well something has to be done to curb e-waste/waste somehow. Be nice if this goes somewhere.
 
Yes, but in this case the EU is trying to do something right and good for the world. Electronic waste is a big problem and the cycle of people upgrading their phones every year or every other year is unacceptable. The EU wants device makers to engineer their devices to last 4 to 5 years or longer. Devices take a lot of resources to make. If they lasted longer, we could cut e-waste of mobile devices in half or more. This is the goal. They want to make companies that claim to be "green" to actually live up to their claims. I fully support the EU on this one and genuinely wish the US would do the same thing.
At face value, I would agree, however I think it doesn't consider the negative side-effects of maintaining a supply chain for parts that may no longer be manufactured because there is a better solution used in newer products. Something like this would require manufacturers to continue producing old tech for the sake being able to continue using old devices. So while it might reduce general waste of entire devices, it'll definitely accelerate the waste produced by the replaced parts, like older battery tech.

The reality is that some of the nastiest materials used in the construction of mobile devices are in fact in the batteries and these are the parts that they want to make easily replaceable. How many more people will actively replace their batteries early on in their devices life because of something like 80% of the battery's life is over because it was made easier and cheaper? While it has good intentions, I'm reluctant to believe that it will actually result in a tangible benefit when it comes to hazardous waste. It would be better to invest in recycling these devices than making them easier to repair over a longer period of time.

I don't know. I'm just incredibly skeptical that it'll pan out the way that they'd think.
 
Software support is an issue with many phones, which is also something the EU wants to address. In your case, obviously not as much of an issue.

On android 13 and happy to stick with it. Don't do anything very exciting with it. Only use official apps etc.

Don't see software support as a big deal. I'll probably keep it till it physically wears out.

We have reached a time where we no longer control technology. It controls us. In more ways some are willing to admit.

Phones are addictive and there can be some seriously negative effects on people from using certain apps or using them too much.

Wouldn't surprise me if age limits come in for them eventually like for cigarettes and alcohol.
 
Hi,
Batteries show age pretty fast
Your lucky if it works well after two years so yeah batteries need better tech.

Solar batteries to.
I agree they do butttttt.

I recently took my pixel 4 to Newquay, Mawgan Porth beach for a week, and with little to no reception it's absolutely f£#@n amazing how long it lasts, days.

Is it the battery, is it your obsessive doom scrolling, or is it all these f£#@&g Applications continuously checking in every 10ms.

Not aiming this at you personally just raising for consideration.

@Aquinus the battery tech can be advanced while maintaining 5 year support, possibly entice loyalty if companies improve battery life in spares.

A power source is a power source the magic before the on button matters little.
 
Is it the battery, is it your obsessive doom scrolling, or is it all these f£#@&g Applications continuously checking in every 10ms.
...or maybe it's newer technology that uses less power than older devices. Things like that can make newer devices not need batteries that are as big as their predecessors for the same kind of battery life. It's that kind of thing that I think will make a difference. Not easily replaceable parts for older devices that are less efficient.
 
I agree they do butttttt.

I recently took my pixel 4 to Newquay, Mawgan Porth beach for a week, and with little to no reception it's absolutely f£#@n amazing how long it lasts, days.

Is it the battery, is it your obsessive doom scrolling, or is it all these f£#@&g Applications continuously checking in every 10ms.

Not aiming this at you personally just raising for consideration.
Hi,
Yeah I had to turn off a lot of stuff blue tooth/... and even battery optimization for the battery to act decent on my iphone se.
 
...or maybe it's newer technology that uses less power than older devices. Things like that can make newer devices not need batteries that are as big as their predecessors for the same kind of battery life. It's that kind of thing that I think will make a difference. Not easily replaceable parts for older devices that are less efficient.
Pixel 4A isn't that old, and battery capacity will always be limited where usage rates and types are not.

It's not like we would ban new phones, just have better options.

Plus battery tech is advancing about as fase as combustion engine tech, IE barely.

So to me a moot point.
 
They went down that route already consumers rejected this simple no duh solution because it made their phones too chunky or added a buldge, we're talking a 1-3mm increase over a standard capacity battery. Undeterred by this conundrum phonemakers went back to the drawing board, and BAM! The phablet is born. Now consumers complain about ever increasing screen sizes.
I meant that we need batteries with greater energy density by volume and weight, not necessarily larger.

Li-S, For example:

"Li–S batteries offer specific energies on the order of 550 WH/kg while lithium-ion batteries are in the range of 150–260 Wh/kg."

With that density, you would have a battery of 10000Mha of weight and volume similar to current technology. Unfortunately, these things never seem to become commercially viable.
 
Nonsense.

Phones are addictive and there can be some seriously negative effects on people from using certain apps or using them too much.

Wouldn't surprise me if age limits come in for them eventually like for cigarettes and alcohol.

It's not just our phones. The Matrix quote above nails it.
And it's not just a thought experiment - ditch your car, your phone, your laptop, your electricity and live like that for the rest of your life. Then and only then I'll will agree your are not in control of machines. Only not! Other will still continue using machines (weapons incl.) and then again machines will have control over you, one way or another.
 
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