Your mobile will be updated for five years from today. It is not as beautiful as it seems

The day came. As of today June 20, the European Union forces all mobiles sold in the region to receive Software updates for at least five years. This measure is part of the regulation that includes other regulations such as the Energy labeling. The idea of ​​offering more years of updates is to end programmed obsolescence and extend the life of the devices, but if you are imagining a world in which your entrance range android is updated to five complete versions of Android, we have bad news.

What the law says. The norm is one of the measures collected in the Regulation (EU) 2023/1669 of the commission of June 16, 2023 and will affect both smartphones and tablets. The text collects a specific section about the system updates where the following obligations for manufacturers are established:

• The devices will have to be updated for five years from the date of their departure to the market.
• The updates will be free.
• There are three types of updates: security, corrections and with new functionalities.
• The security and corrections updates, the maximum margin to reach the user will be four months.
• Functionality updates will have to arrive before six months.

The nuance. Yes, manufacturers will be obliged to offer five years of updates, but the law does not force them to be all new versions of the platform. For example, the first two years could offer complete updates and the remaining three support with security patches. Therefore, we must not confuse these five years of updates with having the latest version of Android during that period.

Who will benefit. Does this change the update panorama? Depends. In iOS, not because Apple usually updates its mobiles between six and seven years after launch. In the case of Android, they will have benefited, especially in the lowest ranges. In 2018 Google began to demand manufacturers to offer At least two years of support if they didn’t want to lose the Google Apps licensebut so far there was no express obligation and the cheapest mobiles are the ones that left worse.

Fragmentation is the eternal problem in Android And, although this law will not solve it, it will ensure that they receive the security patches that will make them less vulnerable.

The duties made (half). There are many brands that already meet the regulations such as Apple. In Android there are also manufacturers that offer good support, although not in all their ranges. Some time ago we saw how several brands began a kind of Pique to see who offered more years of updates. This is what the main Android brands offer:

Objective: Durable mobiles. Within the regulations that enter into force there are other measures focused on increasing the longevity of our devices in what they call ‘ecological design regulations’. The main measures are as follows:

• Facilitate repair: Manufacturers will be obliged to offer spare parts for seven years and must be easy to get and mount. To do this, they mark a series of requirements such as the parts are delivered in less than ten days or that can be mounted with tools available in the market (this would end the own screws).
• More resistant mobiles: With these regulations, mobile phones must be resistant. Which includes enduring up to 45 falls at a height of 1 meter, which resist scratches (they must have a hardness of 4 on the MOHS scale) and be resistant to water and dust (equivalent to an IP43 scale)
• Durable batteries: The battery is one of the components that Before degrading. With this standard, manufacturers must ensure that battery capacity is 80% or more after 800 load cycles.

Energy label. Finally, one of the novelties that includes regulations is energy labeling. Until now we found them in appliances, but as of today we will also see it in mobiles and tablets. The label will show the energy scale (being the most efficient and g the least efficient). It will also include other information such as the full name of the model, battery autonomy (hours that will last each cycle), the repair index and its resistance.

Cover image | Ricardo Aguilar, Xataka

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