EU: from now on mandatory energy label on smartphone and tablet

You may have seen it on refrigerators and other white goods: the energy label. Now the EU is requiring them for smartphones, tablets and cordless phones. The idea is to make people aware of running costs, but also to encourage manufacturers to make more sustainable products.

Drop a phone and it breaks. That was always the thought but not anymore. There are drop-resistant phones and phone glass has also become stronger over the years. People can look for it specifically on our website by searching robust phones or Gorilla Glass.

But increasingly, it's the battery that breaks down first. How easy can you replace it? And how many times is it guaranteed to charge?

As of now, manufacturers must provide this kind of information so consumers can make informed choices. All of this should be on the energy label that is now mandatory with a new mobile or tablet. The idea is that a phone with energy label G will end up costing you more than a phone with energy label A.

€20 billion savings

This goes as far as the EU projects that up to €20 billion will be saved by Europeans by 2030 and 2.2 TWh of energy will be saved. These are serious amounts and savings.

The information that must be on the energy label from now on are;

• Energy efficiency class (A-G)
• Battery duration per cycle (in hours and minutes)
• Free-fall reliability class
• Repairability class
• Number of cycles it takes the battery to reach 80% capacity
• Dust and water resistance (IP rating)

To get the energy label, manufacturers must also provide a comprehensive report with information on how parts can be repaired and how many years of security updates are guaranteed. We've been trying to add this kind of information to our database for some time so that you can conveniently search for it and make your choice.

There is already criticism of the EU's new energy label as well. For example, Apple feels that the way the tests are conducted does not properly show how people use their devices in real life. According to Apple, the tests only look at a small portion of energy consumption and the label says little about how long a product really lasts.

Criticism not new

This kind of criticism is not new; similar objections were already raised about washing machines and refrigerators when they had to comply with the energy label. The fact is that those products have become much more energy efficient. Whether the energy label actually leads to as many energy savings for phones as the EU expects remains to be seen in the future.

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