Smartphone factories that sell in European countries must submit to requirements that require providing spare parts for all mobile parts and also that the batteries perform for many more charging cycles. All this according to the new project made by Brussels.
The European Union mentioned that at least 15 different parts of the mobile must be sold as spare parts for a minimum of 5 years by the manufacturer, starting from the first day that the smartphone or tablet is launched on the market and that the battery cells must be Designed for a useful life of at least 500 charging cycles without suffering damage that in percentage terms is below 83% of its performance.
The mobiles will include a seal that guarantees manufacturing focused on energy efficiency, something similar to what is done with white goods such as washing machines or refrigerators, which use labels indicating guarantees, how efficient they are, in some cases battery life, among other types of data.
This plan is one of the last created for the well-being of the consumer and the planet by the Brussels directive, where they demand a greater commitment from the brands that manufacture smartphones or any type of smart device, given that in recent years it has been noticed that more and more, these devices are designed not to be repaired, and if they present a fault, simply to be exchanged for a new one, which is considered a very bad and dishonest practice. Let's also remember that the Brussels directive has approved another plan that will be a standard in 2024 to use the same type of charger in all brands and models on the market, in this case we are talking about the Type C charger.
What these initiatives are intended to achieve within Europe is to reduce emissions by at least 10 tons of CO₂ each year. Which is the equivalent of taking 5 million cars off the road. In addition, factories will save a third of the energy used today.
All this will be taken with great force by the European authorities, so much so that if any brand fails to comply with the agreement, it will be out of the market. On the other hand, the factories argue that increasing spare parts for a long time will only cause the levels of plastic in circulation to rise.
However, some brands such as Apple have already been looked at as they have been promoting the repair of their equipment in authorized centers. This due to pressure from their own community, but also due to the regulations that have become increasingly severe for factories, until reaching what is currently being done in Brussels. We hope that it can be copied in every corner of the world.
It is worth mentioning that there are also proposals for sustainable change on the table that involve the mobile operating system, where more time will be required for security updates, there is also talk of at least 5 years.