Germany wants smartphones to last longer: manufacturers must provide updates and replacement parts for 7 years

The trend of ensuring that smartphones are not written off after two years because they have become unusable is far from over. If it depends on the German federal government, manufacturers like Apple, Google and Samsung will even have to provide security updates and affordable parts in the EU for at least seven years.

In the news: The German government’s far-reaching and ambitious plans come from a leaked report hiace online It can be seen. In that report, the German federal government is pursuing more ambitious goals than the European Commission itself. Of course, there is opposition from smartphone manufacturers to this.

How is the situation now? There are currently no strict rules in force in the European Union in this area. Manufacturers themselves have made more and more progress in recent years under competitive pressure.

• Apple has always been a pioneer in this field and provides its services The latest iPhone models have been on software updates for at least six years. He can of course take advantage of the fact that only their devices use their iOS.
• With Android it’s a little different, so new updates that are compatible with all the new and old devices of hundreds of brands that use the operating system continue to be made.

What are the European Commission’s plans? To significantly reduce the mountain of e-waste, the European Commission has been working for some time on stricter rules for smartphone manufacturers.

• Recently, for example, after years of slack, a law was finally passed common charger For all smartphones and other electrical devices in the European Union.
• At the moment, the European Commission is working on its own plan to oblige manufacturers to ensure that their smartphones and tablets can be used for a longer period. The proposal that appears to be on the table is to require five years of support for smartphones and six years for tablets. Details of these terms will not be determined until 2023. In the meantime, Germany hopes to persuade the European Union to make the rules stricter.

What do producers want? The DigitalEurope group (with Apple, Google and Samsung already some of its key members) wants just three years of mandatory security updates and wants to limit parts requirements to screens and batteries. So, in theory, for them, this goes back to the way it is now.