The products covered by the obligation to repair currently include:
- washing machines and washer-dryers
- dishwashers
- refrigerators
- electronic displays
- welding equipment
- servers and data storage products
- mobile phones, cordless phones and tablets
- tumble dryers
- e-bikes and e-scooters batteries (from 18 February 2027)
- local space heaters
Hopefully this will benefit other countries indirectly, instead of designing one repairable phone and one not repairable, should be easier to just design one.
“Hold my beer” - Nintendo, releasing an EU centric revision. Meanwhile Apple and Samsung are digging up every legal loophole to prevent the law applying to their devices.
Apple and Samsung be like: “It’s not a mobile phone or a tablet, it’s a phablet so it does not fall in to any category of the devices that need to be repairable.”
The loophole in the directive is smaller phones. Smartphones go from 10.16 cm (4 inches) diagonal to 17. 78cm (7 inches) and everything bigger (up to 44.2 cm) is a tablet.
Samsung and Apple’s flagship smartphones are very close to be considered tablets but that wouldn’t save them from the requirements.
Apple: hey fans, did you know the best phone is actually small?!!
iPhones are already super easy to repair. Apple have been at the forefront of this for years.
For the downvoters who are too blinded by their hate for Apple to believe facts:
https://www.ifixit.com/repairability/smartphone-repairability-scores
PROS
- Display and battery repairs are well-prioritized, though not as well as in other (dual-entry) iPhone models.
- Torx screws secure the battery assembly in place, making replacements straightforward.
- Repair parts and instructions are available straight from Apple.
CONS
- Five different screwhead types and the continued reliance on adhesives complicate basic repairs.
the same apple that locks individual parts of devices to user accounts so that they can’t be used for repair?
Same Apple. Signing new parts to your device is incredibly simple and DIY now.
https://www.ifixit.com/repairability/smartphone-repairability-scores
PROS
- Display and battery repairs are well-prioritized, though not as well as in other (dual-entry) iPhone models.
- Torx screws secure the battery assembly in place, making replacements straightforward.
- Repair parts and instructions are available straight from Apple.
CONS
- Five different screwhead types and the continued reliance on adhesives complicate basic repairs.
…but only if you buy the parts new.
I wouldn’t want to be putting second hand parts in my phone when repairing it. I can’t imagine there are many second hand screens or batteries around for sale given they’re the things that are replaced the most.
Not that I’d ever want a second hand screen or battery anyway.
Not an option if you love somewhere where official parts are not for sale.
Are we talking about the same apple that invented a new type of screw to keep people from taking their phones apart? The same apple that once people could get a trilobe driver, then made it so that generic replacement screens would not work because of some protection from non-apple hardware? Then went on to make sure that you can’t use non-apple parts in a laptop?
Yes.
https://www.ifixit.com/repairability/smartphone-repairability-scores
PROS
- Display and battery repairs are well-prioritized, though not as well as in other (dual-entry) iPhone models.
- Torx screws secure the battery assembly in place, making replacements straightforward.
- Repair parts and instructions are available straight from Apple.
CONS
- Five different screwhead types and the continued reliance on adhesives complicate basic repairs.
They pass dystopian chat control with one hand and does this with the other.
The EU is a complex organization with different power poles and a variety of different interests. Add to that members of parliament do not always understand everything they vote for. And yes: you get bad things, nonsensical rules, but also good things.
Overall, I would say it’s positive, but when it’s bad it can be brutal.
Edit: I forgot to mention lobbying! Brussels is full of lobbyists!
It is also influenced by us, those who vote in the election of the European Union. The European Greens and Socialist & Democrats have lost quite a bit of influence since the last period.
Yes there are many lobbyists at Brussels and that’s a problem. Sorry for not being as cynical as you.
Seriously, talk about major whiplash with how they do things lmao
All those people in Brussels are out of touch. They live in their own world.
A world where there is right to repair.
Makes you think, right? Almost as if the narrative about how dystopian chat control is and how evil EU is doesn’t really add up and it’s just people repeating some bullshit they read on a blog.
There is a lot of anti-EU propaganda, especially surrounding the Chat Control.
Yes, there are some authoritarian politicians trying to push it through. But there is a reason why it has failed so many times. Because most EU politicians are really not that bad.
The propaganda is being pushed by Russia to sow discontent in the EU. That is why you see on every positive EU story, there is someone in the comment going “What about Chat Control though?” As if that proves the EU is evil.
Interesting things that are not on the list:
- Farming equipment
- Motor and electric vehicles
- Computers (including laptops)
- Video game consoles
- HVAC systems and equipment
Not sure if smart TVs fall under “electronic displays”, or if they just mean commercial displays when they say that.
Why is bicycle on the list? A bicycle is the epitome of repairability.
Edit: it got enshittified?
Derailleur hangers come to mind, some brands use a different version in the same model lineup and model year. It’s on purpose to confuse an make it difficult for the average rider to DIY.
Also Cannondale, famous for using non-standard parts (and tools) for no apparent reason.
