From 20 June 2025 smartphones and tablets will have an energy classification: the new rules promise the average life of our devices by a year.
From 20 June 2025 smartphones and tablets will also have to exhibit the energy label. It is the first time that mobile devices, present with an average of 1,5 specimens for every citizen of the European Unionwill be subjected to same rules already applied to appliances and televisions.
The novelty comes thanks to two new community regulations on Ecodesign and Energy Labelling, created with the aim of prolong the useful life of devices, reduce their environmental impact and direct users towards more ecological and sustainable choices. The models concerned are smartphones, cordless phones, old generation cell phones (the so -called “feature phones”) and the so -called “slate tablets”, or tablets with a screen of size between 7 and 17.4 inches without physical keyboard. On the other hand, tablet with flexible display, high security devices and classic tablets with keyboard and computer operating system (Windows type) are excluded.
The devices will last longer. The rules on the Ecodesign impose that the new models are resistant to falls and scratcheshave batteries that last at least 800 charging cycles keeping 80% of the initial capacityand guarantee Updates of the operating system for at least five years. In addition, manufacturers will have to make Spare parts available within 5-10 working days, also for a further seven years after the end of the sale of the model. Professional repairers will have free access to software and firmware necessary for the replacement of the components.
All this translates into more long -lived devices: for example, the average life of a smartphone could climb from 3 to over 4 yearsgoing to affect the environment directly on the environment: on the other hand, less replacements also means less electronic waste and a reduction in production -related consumption. In 2030, according to the estimates of the European Community, even with a decrease in annual sales from 174 to 147 million units compared to 2010, the total number of devices in use will go from 536 to 653 million.
What you find on the label. The energy label will be similar to what we have learned to know each purchase of washing machine or refrigerator, but will contain more information: not only the Efficiency class from A A Gbut also the battery liferesistance to repeated impacts, protection from dust and water and, for the first time, a score relating to the ease of repair.
All this information will also be accessible via QR Code, thanks to the EPREL European database. The greatest transparency aims to stimulate more aware purchasing behaviors in users but it is not only an energy issue, but also of reward the designed devices to last longer and to consume less.
Nonetheless, the greenhouse gas emissions will also be benefited, which will drop from 2.1 to 0.5 million tons of co2 in twenty years.
Consumption cuts. According to European estimates, these measures will bring in 2030 a A saving of 1.2 TWH of electricity (from 6.1 to 4.9), equal to 0.09% of the total EU consumption. For families it will translate into a lower energy expenditure and in less purchases of new devices, with a total savings of around 20 billion eurosequal to 98 euros per core.
In cordless phones, for example, standby consumption has already fallen by 63% compared to 1990, while in smartphones and tablets, the energy required for daily charging could drop by 25% by 2030, a silent revolution that will transform the way we relate to the electronic devices of everyday use.
