Europe set to ‘force’ Apple, Samsung, others to make this big change to their smartphones

The European Union (EU) last month voted in favour of a new law that will make it mandatory for all manufacturers to build their devices, including smartphones, with “removable and replaceable” batteries by 2027 in the region. The Council of the EU has officially adopted the new regulation.
“The regulation will regulate the entire life cycle of batteries – from production to reuse and recycling – and ensure that they are safe, sustainable and competitive,” the council said.
It also said that the regulation of the European Parliament and the rule will apply to all batteries, including all waste portable batteries, electric vehicle batteries, industrial batteries, starting, lightning and ignition batteries (used mostly for vehicles and machinery) and batteries for light means of transport (e-bikes and e-scooters).How this law will reducing environmental impact
The new regulation aims to reduce environmental and social impacts throughout the life cycle of the battery. It sets tight rules for operators who must verify the source of raw materials used for batteries placed on the market.
What is Circular economy
According to the council, the new rules aim to promote a circular economy by regulating batteries throughout their life cycle.
“The regulation therefore establishes end-of-life requirements, including collection targets and obligations, targets for the recovery of materials and extended producer responsibility,” it said.
Targets for battery producers
The regulation sets targets for producers to collect waste portable batteries (63% by the end of 2027 and 73% by the end of 2030), and introduces a dedicated collection objective for waste batteries for light means of transport (51% by the end of 2028 and 61% by the end of 2031).
The regulation sets a target for lithium recovery from waste batteries of 50% by the end of 2027 and 80% by the end of 2031, which can be amended through delegated acts depending on market and technological developments and the availability of lithium.

What’s in for users
This new law will encourage users to replace batteries on their appliances, including smartphones, by themselves, unlike now when they have to go to service centres to get their packs replaced.
“The regulation provides that by 2027 portable batteries incorporated into appliances should be removable and replaceable by the end-user, leaving sufficient time for operators to adapt the design of their products to this requirement,” it said.
The batteries for e-scooters and e-bikes will need to be replaceable by an independent professional.
The ruling may also have a huge impact on phones that are being sold in markets outside the EU region. Historically, it has been seen that measures (GDPR and Google antitrust case) taken by the EU are adopted in other markets.