On August 31, 2023, the European Commission published in the Official Journal OJ the Ecodesign Act (EU) 2023/1670 and the Energy Labelling Act (EU) 2023/1669 for mobile phone and tablet products, which were formulated in accordance with the requirements of the European Union's Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Work Plan 2022-2024, which will enter into force on the twentieth day after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) and will be mandatory on June 20, 2025.

According to the bill, smartphones and tablets placed on the EU market must display information about their energy efficiency, battery life, protection against dust and water, and protection against accidental drops. This is the first time that a product on the EU market has been required to display a repairability score.

Ecodesign Act (EU) 2023/1670

In order to improve the energy efficiency and durability of mobile phone and tablet products, strict requirements have been put forward for the maintainability, reliability and recycling of products through eco-design principles such as open repair rights, increased product transparency, and recycling.

According to the requirements of the

Ecodesign Act, manufacturers, importers or agents are obliged to provide critical spare parts to maintenance personnel within 5-10 working days until 7 years after the end of the sale of the product model on the EU market.

If a battery or back cover assembly is not available to the customer, the manufacturer needs to ensure that the product design meets the following requirements:

1. The cycle life is not less than 500 times, and after 500 times, there is at least 83% of the remaining capacity;

2. The battery cycle life is not less than 1000 times, and after 1000 times, there is at least 80% remaining capacity;

3. The product has IP67 dustproof and waterproof design.

The Act requires manufacturers, importers or agents to publish product repair manuals on their free websites to provide professional technicians or users with information related to the repair and maintenance of products, including product identification, disassembly diagrams, fault diagnosis information, necessary circuit connection diagrams, tag diagrams, and disassembly tool requirements.

In order to improve the durability of mobile phones and tablets, the bill requires that products must meet certain reliability requirements

1. Anti-drop design;

2. Mohs 4 hardness screen design;

3. IP44 dustproof and waterproof design

4. The battery cycle life is not less than 500 times;

5. Improve the battery management function and optimize the charging efficiency

6. Availability of operating system upgrades: at least 5 years after the product is placed on the market;

7. Professional repairers use any software or firmware required for replacement without discrimination.

Energy Efficiency Rating Labelling Act (EU) 2023/1669

According to the Act, all smartphones and tablets must be labelled with an energy efficiency rating and registered on the EU's public goods database EPREL before they can be placed on the market.

Energy efficiency labels for smartphones and tablets

In response to the two new EU Directives, the CTTL-Terminal Labs can provide a complete evaluation program for enterprises, and can contact xialijiao@caict.ac.cn if necessary.

Following the publication of the announcement number C(2023) 4823 final on 20 July 2023, the European Commission published Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2444 in the Official Journal of the European Union on 27 October 2023. The regulation amends Authorization Regulation (EU) 2022/30 and corrects the essential requirements of Article 3(3)(e) of the definition of the category of equipment that must be met. The regulation postpones the mandatory date for Section 3(3) (d), (e), and (f) of the RED Enabling Act to August 1, 2025. This will allow time for the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) to create high-quality harmonized standards. The authorisation regulation also amends the text description in the second paragraph of Chapter 1 of (EU) 2022/30 by changing the original "traffic data and location data" to "traffic data or location data".

This regulation shall enter into force on the date of publication. Click on this link to view the original article (EU) 2023/2444.

On July 28, 2023, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union published a new regulation on batteries and waste batteries, Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. The regulation aims to promote a circular economy in the battery industry by regulating all stages of the battery life cycle, including production, reuse, and recycling. The regulation includes labeling and information requirements for battery components and outlines targets for the recycling of used battery materials, as well as requirements for the carbon footprint of batteries (which does not apply to portable batteries). The regulation was codified on 12 July 2023, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 28 July 2023, and will enter into force on 18 August 2023

• Chapter 13 of the Regulation, from 18 August 2025, all batteries shall bear a separate recycling mark, from 18 August 2026, the relevant labelling requirements of the Regulation shall be fully implemented, from 18 February 2027 all batteries shall have a QR code containing the battery information required by the Regulations;
• Chapter 11 of the Regulation (Removable and replaceable requirements for portable batteries and LMT batteries): 18 February 2027;
• Directive 2006/66/EC, which replaces this regulation, will be repealed from 18 August 2025.

Click on this link to view the original Regulation (EU) 2023/1542.