Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
TL;DR The European Union has introduced mandatory energy efficiency labels for all smartphones and tablets sold within its region starting today, June 20, 2025.
These labels provide detailed information on energy use, battery longevity, drop resistance, IP rating for dust and water resistance, and repairability scores.
Complementing this rollout are ecodesign requirements mandating durable batteries, extended software support, readily available spare parts, and more.
It’s not easy to discern how efficient, durable, or repairable a smartphone or tablet is, just from its spec sheet or marketing materials. Manufacturers are all too happy to hide the information that shows their product in a bad light, and we can only hope for regulations to come along to bring some much-needed transparency. The European Union is leading the way, thanks to its new energy label and ecodesign requirements that go into force today in the region, forcing smartphone makers to change for the better.
EU energy labels: What does the label mean? Starting today, June 20, 2025, smartphones and tablets sold in the EU must feature a new energy efficiency label that displays information on their energy efficiency, battery longevity, protection from dust and water, and against accidental drops. It doesn’t end here, as phones and tablets must also showcase a repairability score.
In the energy level above, graphic number 1 points to the scale of energy efficiency classes ranging from A (best) to G (worst), but icon number 2 showcases where the product is actually placed (C, in this reference example).
Icon 3 denotes the battery endurance per cycle, in hours and minutes per full battery charge, indicating how many hours of use you can expect from a full charge on a new device. This number is determined based on a standardized test of usage, so hopefully, manufacturers can’t just make this up. The EU’s website isn’t very clear on how icon 3 differs from icon 5, though, as the text explanation for number 5 applies better to number 3 (and even has the same icon).
Further, icon 4 indicates the device’s repeated free-fall reliability class. Think of it as the smartphone or tablet’s impact resistance, determined based on the number of falls in a standardized test that the device can withstand without functionality problems. A is the most robust, and E is the least robust.
Icon 6 denotes the smartphone or tablet’s repairability class, where A is the most repairable and E is the least. Finally, icon 7 represents the device’s IP rating for dust and water resistance.
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