{"id":57396,"date":"2025-10-03T01:59:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T01:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/57396\/"},"modified":"2025-10-03T01:59:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T01:59:08","slug":"inside-the-new-repairability-scores-for-smartphones-and-tablets-in-the-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/57396\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the new repairability scores for smartphones and tablets in the EU"},"content":{"rendered":"

More and more electronics are being sold in the EU, contributing to waste generation. According to Eurostat<\/a>, the amount of electrical and electronic equipment on the market increased from 7.6\u00a0million tonnes in 2012 to 14.4\u00a0million tonnes in 2022. However, while the amount of total e-waste collected in the bloc also increased during this period, only a fraction of electric and electronic equipment \u2013 4\u00a0million tonnes in 2022 \u2013 is recycled and prepared for reuse.<\/p>\n

To help reduce waste, pollution and resource extraction, my colleagues and I at the European Commission\u2019s Joint Research Centre (JRC) designed a tool to help consumers make sustainable purchasing decisions: repairability scores for smartphones and tablets. The scores, now included on the EU energy label for these products, could help build a more circular economy.<\/p>\n

The path to a circular economy<\/p>\n

One reason why product waste is on the rise is the way products are designed. A good example is mobile phone batteries. According to a report<\/a> prepared for the Commission by the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration, the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research and the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), these batteries were typically replaceable by end-users until 2011. But design practices shifted rapidly, and as the report shows, user-replaceable batteries became a rarity by 2020.<\/p>\n

The share of mobile phones with user-replaceable batteries, 2000-2020<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

The share of mobile phone models with user-replaceable (blue) and user-unreplaceable (orange) batteries over two decades. Proske et al. (2020), as cited in European Commission: Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Fraunhofer, Vito, Schischke, K., Clemm, C. et al., Ecodesign preparatory study on mobile phones, smartphones and tablets \u2013 Final report, Publications Office, 2021.
\n Proske, M., Baur, S. J., R\u00fcckschloss, J., Teusch, C., Krause, T., & Poppe, E. (2020), Author provided (no reuse)<\/p>\n

In the face of supply challenges for raw materials critical to achieving EU climate and digital objectives<\/a>, there is an increased focus on circularity in the bloc. This should not come as a surprise: material circularity has multiple potential benefits. In a linear economy, raw material is extracted and turned into manufactured products, which are disposed of as waste after use. By contrast, a circular economy<\/a> is a closed-loop system whereby resources are kept in circulation via reuse or recycling. Extending the lifetime of products by repairing them is a typical strategy for circularity. It reduces demand for both extraction and production, slowing down those resource loops, and generates savings for consumers as purchases become less frequent.<\/p>\n

We developed the scoring system for smartphones and tablets<\/a> based on a more general repairability scoring system that the JRC developed in 2019. Falling on an A to E scale (highest to lowest repairability), the scores began appearing on the EU energy label<\/a> for these two kinds of devices, alongside other product information such as battery endurance and resistance to dust and water penetration (the \u201cIP\u201d rating), on June\u00a020, 2025.<\/p>\n

EU energy labelling regulations are often paired with the bloc\u2019s Ecodesign regulations, which set minimum requirements for the same or similar qualities. While the minimum requirements in the Ecodesign regulations aim at ridding the EU market of \u201cthe worst-performing products\u201d<\/a>, the energy labelling regulations reward the products that perform best with consumer-facing high scores.<\/p>\n

Evaluating repairability<\/p>\n

To develop a method to determine repairability scores for smartphones and tablets, we dived into product characteristics to understand what makes repair easy or difficult.<\/p>\n

First, we identified key components (\u201cpriority parts\u201d). This allowed us to focus on components that are critical for a product to function and are associated with frequent failures. It also ensured that the assessment addresses failures that consumers face in daily life. Product analyses and consumer surveys revealed that batteries and screens are most vulnerable to failure. As such, the ability to replace them weighs in accordingly in the assessment. Cameras, ports, microphones and speakers were some of the other key components that formed part of the overall score.<\/p>\n

As a second step, we identified the parameters that determine the ability to repair. These fell into two groups. The first is comprised of those related to the physical design of the product, and the effort and time needed for repair. They include the kind of tools that are required to access the components needing replacement, the way components are fastened together, and the number of steps it takes to remove a faulty component (\u201cdisassembly depth\u201d).<\/p>\n

The second group of parameters is comprised of those related to services provided by product manufacturers. These include the availability of spare parts to replace faulty ones, the availability of repair instructions (such as diagrams and disassembly maps) for independent professionals and consumers, and the length of time software updates are available.<\/p>\n

The evaluation of all the parameters in both groups results in the aggregated repairability score that is now on EU energy labels for smartphones and tablets.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

The back cover of a smartphone with a snap-fit fastening system, which is easily removable by hand.
\n Tobias Isakeit and an unnamed contributor, iFixit.com<\/a>, CC BY-NC-SA<\/a><\/p>\n

Benefits from more sustainable consumption<\/p>\n

Increasing the lifetime of smartphones and tablets could help save raw materials, meet EU climate goals<\/a> and reduce costs for consumers. According to an estimate in the Ecodesign Impact Accounting Overview Report 2024<\/a>, a report prepared by the VHK consultancy for the Commission, in 2030, the EU Ecodesign and energy labelling regulations for mobile phones (of which the repairability score is part) are expected to save 0.2 megatonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions and \u20ac20\u00a0billion for consumers per year.<\/p>\n

But there is more: if the scores stimulate consumer demand for more repairable products<\/a>, supply could follow, with manufacturers looking to gain a competitive advantage on that basis. And eventually, you might have fewer wasted hours trying to recover your contacts, photos and user accounts from your broken phone.<\/p>\n

Beyond smartphones and tablets<\/p>\n

The methodology behind the scores for smartphones and tablets is highly adaptable. Selecting the priority parts and repairability parameters that correspond to the technical characteristics and market conditions of a given product can be used for a variety of appliances and devices.<\/p>\n

In April, the European Commission announced plans<\/a> to propose repairability requirements (including repairability scores) for more consumer electronics and small household appliances, under the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation<\/a>. As such, consumers may have more readily accessible information about repairability in the coming years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A weekly e-mail in English featuring expertise from scholars and researchers. It provides an introduction to the diversity of research coming out of the continent and considers some of the key issues facing European countries. Get the newsletter!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More and more electronics are being sold in the EU, contributing to waste generation. According to Eurostat, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57397,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[342,111,139,69,145],"class_list":["post-57396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-mobile","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}