Starting from today – Friday June 20, 2025 – smartphones and tablets sold within the European Union will be equipped with one new label which will provide important information on sustainability and energy capacity. Therefore, the provisions of the EU regulations 2023/169 and 2023/1670, which brought new rules for producers of the electronic appliances in question, then enters into force.
The new label, which is circulating on the web, will not be very different from that already applied to appliances, and will be applied to all smartphones and tablets with a screen up to 17.4 inches. The provision also concerns feature phone and cordless, mentro does not consider devices with a rolling display. With the new research the right to repair and reusethat’s why it’s so important.
But what will we find on the new label? There are nine fundamental points.
- The QR code. At the top right it will be possible to find a QR code connected to a European database. By scanning the code, you can therefore draw on all specific product cards, the documentation relating to the various tests carried out and information on the model;
- Brand and identification codewhich allow you to recognize the chosen model:
- Energy efficiency class. The ranking goes from letter A, that is, excellent, to the G, considered scarce. To draw up the ranking, the authorities were based on the energy efficiency index. Not only is the amount of consumption calculated, but also battery efficiency;
- Battery life. At the center of the label we find the precious indication that is measured in hours and tenderly account for the conditions of intensive use;
- Reliability to the fall. How able to resist the smartphone in case of accidental fall? To tell us is a staircase introduced precisely for this. There is a ranking ranging from to E. the devices – at least 4 out of 5 of the models – must resist a fall from one meter, without restoring damage;
- Repairing index. In the same way we have the index of repairability, with a scale that from 0 to 10, or from to E. of the device in question, the ability to be dismantled is taken into account, as well as the kind of fixing used. The type of sruments necessary to intervene, the availability of spare parts, the duration of software updates and the accessibility of the repair guides are also considered;
- Battery life. In the label, an indication of battery life could not be missing, expressed in complete charge cycles. The EU requires a minimum of 800 cycles for smartphones (some models will also reach 1,000);
- Protection from dust and liquids. It takes into account the IPxy standard, i.e. that parameter that evaluates the degree of protection provided by mechanical wraps and electrical panels against the intrusion of solid and liquid particles;
- European Regulation number. Finally, we have the regulation that led to the label, i.e. 2023/1669. This is used to ensure regulatory transparency.
“From today smartphones and tablets on the EU market will be durable, efficient from an energy point of view and easier to repair”, commented this morning a spokesperson for
European Commission. “Clean energy labels will guide people to smarter and sustainable choices and better information means better choices “concluded.