The European Union is motivating tech companies to be more transparent with consumers – and the latest requirement is a welcome step in that direction.
From June 20, 2025, all smartphones sold in the European Union and will introduce a new label inside the tablet box, indicating battery life and efficiency. It is an update to energy stickers. Europeans are already familiar on home appliances, ready to align with the type of consumers, which now expect from their electronic devices.
Which products come under new requirements?
The regulation cordless phone (used for landline), a smartphone for cellular or satellite network, phone without the internet or third-party app, and applied to the tablet with a screen between 7 and 17.4 inches. Only equipment in these categories that have been placed on the market since June 20, 2025, further.
Flexible main display devices that can be uncontrolled, either partially or completely, are free from this requirement. Prior to June 20, phones and tablets have already been excluded in the European Union market.
What are the exact requirements?
All the devices described above must meet five major ecodijine criteria:
- Tolerance: The equipment should be resistant to casual drops and preserved against dust and water.
- Battery longevity: The battery should tolerate at least 800 full charge and discharge cycles, while at least 80% of their original capacity remains.
- Repair: Manufacturers should provide important spare parts within 5 to 10 working days, and continue to present the product for 7 years after they are not sold in the European Union.
- Software support: The device should receive the operating system upgrade for at least 5 years from the date of end-off-cell.
- Repair: Professional repairers should have non-discriminatory access to any necessary software or firmware.
What does the sticker look like?
European product registry for energy labeling stickers, usually known as energy labels, will display seven major pieces of information. We have already seen a sample sticker on a phone for the European market, confirming that the system is actually rolling out.
Who ensures this data accurate?
All suppliers – manufacturers, importers, or authorized representatives – are working in the European Union/EEA market. Your product model should be registered through a dedicated Eperal platform managed by the European Commission.
While the manufacturers are responsible for providing accurate data, the Commission will verify the information related to the ingrace safety, repair and battery performance.
A real life sticker; The information of the device is hidden by us
We spoke to the Representatives of the European Commission, who shared that their vision for device tests on GSMarena.com for 15 years closely align with the work we are doing.
At the end of 2023, we introduced an updated set of tests and began collaborating with the French Automation Company Smartwaiser. The same company now provides testing solutions to manufacturers, which strongly indicates that the functioning we helped develop millions of consumers across Europe will empower them to make better well purchasing decisions to empower.
What does this mean for the final consumer?
The ecodesign label is part of a comprehensive European Union campaign with the aim of improving energy efficiency by 2030. This initiative is expected to reduce CO, emissions to 46 million tonnes and protect each house from an average of € 150, which is already at the top of savings obtained through existing ecodesign measures.
While these rules are officially applied only within the European Union, their influence can move much further than 27 member states. We are already seeing that smartphone manufacturers expand software update support globally, while equipment is becoming more durable and easy to repair, benefiting consumers everywhere.
In the future, we can see manufacturers streamlined production and choose to meet the needs of European Union globally rather than developing separate versions for different markets.
