Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1670 of 16 June 2023 laying down ecodesign requirements for smartphones, mobile phones other than smartphones, cordless phones and slate tablets pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/826 (Text with EEA relevance)

1 This Regulation establishes ecodesign requirements for the placing on the market of smartphones, other mobile phones, cordless phones and slate tablets.

2 This Regulation does not apply to the following products: (a) mobile phones and tablets with a flexible main display which the user can unroll and roll up partly or fully; (b) smartphones for high security communication.

1 For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply: (1) ‘mobile phone’ means a cordless handheld electronic device, which has the following characteristics: (a) it is designed for long-range voice communication over either a cellular telecommunications network or a satellite based telecommunications network, requiring a SIM card, eSIM or similar means to identify the connected parties; (b) it is designed for battery mode usage, while connection to mains via an external power supply and/or wireless power transmission is mainly for battery charging purposes; (c) it is not designed to be worn on the wrist. (2) ‘smartphone’ means a mobile phone, which has the following characteristics: (a) it is characterised by wireless network connection, mobile use of internet services, an operating system optimised for handheld use and the ability to accept original and third-party software applications; (b) it has an integrated touch screen display with a viewable diagonal size of 10,16 centimetres (or 4,0 inches) or more, but less than 17,78 centimetres (or 7,0 inches); (c) where the device has a foldable display or has more than one display, at least one of the displays falls into the size range in either opened or closed mode. (3) ‘smartphone for high security communication’ means a smartphone, which has the following characteristics: (a) it is accredited, or otherwise approved by the designated authority in a Member State or is in the process of accreditation or other approval to transmit, process or store classified information; (b) it is intended for professional users only; (c) it is capable of detecting physical intrusion to the hardware, including for intrusion detection at least a controller, related wiring, flexible printed circuit board circuitry for drill protection integrated to the device chassis and integrated tamper loops on the main printed circuit board. (4) ‘professional user’ means any natural or legal person, to whom a product has been made available for use in the course of their industrial or professional activities; (5) ‘cordless phone’ means a cordless handheld electronic device which has the following characteristics: (a) it is designed for long-range voice communication over a landline telecommunications network; (b) it is connected to a base station through a radio interface; (c) it is designed for battery mode usage, while connection to mains via an external power supply is mainly for battery charging purposes. (6) ‘base station’ means a device that acts as the bridge between the network connection (telephone or Internet connection) and one or several cordless phone handsets, but does not provide router functionality for any other devices. A base station typically provides also the build-in charging cradle to recharge the handset; (7) ‘charging cradle’ means a device that acts as the charging unit for a single cordless phone handset, but does not provide network connection functionality; (8) ‘slate tablet’ means a device that is designed for portability and has the following characteristics: (a) it has an integrated touch-sensitive display with a viewable diagonal size greater than or equal to 17,78 centimetres (or 7,0 inches) and less than 44,20 centimetres (or 17,4 inches); (b) it does not have an integrated, physically attached keyboard in its designed configuration; (c) it primarily relies on a wireless network connection; (d) it is powered by an internal battery and is not intended to work without battery; (e) it is placed on the market with an operating system designed for mobile platforms, identical or analogous to smartphones; (9) ‘model identifier’ means the code, usually alphanumeric, which distinguishes a specific product model from other models with the same trade mark or the same manufacturer's, importer's or authorised representative's name; (10) ‘product database’ means a collection of data concerning products, which is arranged in a systematic manner and consists of a consumer-oriented public part, where information concerning individual product parameters is accessible by electronic means, an online portal for accessibility and a compliance part, with clearly specified accessibility and security requirements, as laid down in Regulation (EU) 2017/1369; (11) ‘equivalent model’ means a model which has the same technical characteristics relevant for the technical information to be provided, but which is placed on the market or put into service by the same manufacturer, importer or authorised representative as another model with a different model identifier.

2 For the purposes of Annexes II to V, the definitions set out in Annex I shall apply.

The ecodesign requirements set out in Annex II shall apply from the dates indicated therein.

1 The conformity assessment procedure as referred to in Article 8 of Directive 2009/125/EC shall be the internal design control system set out in Annex IV to that Directive or the management system set out in Annex V to that Directive.

2 For the purposes of conformity assessment pursuant to Article 8(2) of Directive 2009/125/EC, the technical documentation shall contain a copy of the product information provided in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation, and the details and the results of the calculations set out in Annex III to this Regulation.

3 Where the information included in the technical documentation for a particular model has been obtained: (a) from a model that has the same technical characteristics relevant for the technical information to be provided but is produced by a different manufacturer, or (b) by calculation on the basis of design or extrapolation from another model of the same or a different manufacturer, or both, the technical documentation shall include the details of such calculation, the assessment undertaken by the manufacturer to verify the accuracy of the calculation and, where appropriate, the declaration of identity between the models of different manufacturers. The technical documentation shall include a list of all equivalent models, including the model identifiers.

4 The technical documentation shall also include the information in the order and as set out in Annex VI to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1669. For market surveillance purposes, manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives may, without prejudice to point 2(g) of Annex IV to Directive 2009/125/EC, refer to the technical documentation uploaded to the product database which contains the same information laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1669.

Member States shall apply the verification procedure laid down in Annex IV to this Regulation when performing the market surveillance checks referred to in Article 3(2) of Directive 2009/125/EC.

1 Manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives shall not place on the market products designed to alter their behaviour or properties when tested by Member State authorities performing checks on product compliance, in order to reach a more favourable result for any of the declared values of the parameters covered by ecodesign requirements included in this Regulation applicable at the time of the placing on the market of the products. This includes, but is not limited to, products designed to be able to detect they are being tested (e.g. by recognising the test conditions or test cycle) and to automatically alter their behaviour or properties in response and products pre-set to alter their behaviour or properties at the time of testing.

2 Manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives shall not prescribe test instructions, specific for when these products are tested by Member State authorities performing checks on product compliance, that alter the behaviour or the properties of products in order to reach a more favourable result for any of the declared values of the parameters covered by ecodesign requirements included in this Regulation applicable at the time of the placing on the market of the products. This includes, but is not limited to, prescribing a manual alteration of a product in preparation to the test that alters its behaviour or properties from the perspective of the normal use by the user.

3 Manufacturers, importers or authorised representatives shall not place on the market products designed to alter their behaviour or properties within a short period after putting the product into service leading to a worsening of any of the declared value of the parameters covered by ecodesign requirements included in this Regulation applicable at the time of the placing on the market of the products.

The indicative benchmarks for the best-performing products and technologies available on the market on 20 September 2023 are set out in Annex V.

The Commission shall review this Regulation in the light of technological progress and present the result of this assessment including, if appropriate, a draft revision proposal, to the Consultation Forum established pursuant to Article 14(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 of the European Parliament and of the Council by 20 September 2027. The review shall in particular assess: (a) the need to revise the scope of this Regulation to reflect market evolution; (b) the appropriateness of including smart wearables in the scope of this Regulation and of laying down generic and specific requirements for these; (c) the appropriateness of setting specific ecodesign requirements on the resistance of slate tablets to accidental drops; (d) the appropriateness of increasing the stringency of the requirement on battery endurance in cycles; (e) the appropriateness of defining a standardised battery that could be used interchangeably across a range of mobile phones and slate tablets; (f) the need to set out requirements to enable or improve repair and upgradeability with used or third-party spare parts; (g) the need to revise or extend the list of spare parts, of spare parts availability per target group including professional repairers and end-users, and of repair information for which requirements are set out; (h) the inclusion of further chemical elements in the information requirements in Annex II; (i) the need to include reliability requirements related to foldable devices; (j) the appropriateness to impose requirements on the recycled content of materials; (k) the appropriateness of imposing further information requirements on spare part prices; (l) the option for manufacturers to make data for 3D printing of plastic components (e.g. battery compartment cover, buttons etc.) publicly available on a free-access website, either in addition to their obligation to make these spare parts available to professional repairers or end-users or as a means to fulfil this obligation; (m) the appropriateness to prohibit serialisation of parts; (n) the appropriateness of requirements regarding functionality updates to the operating system; (o) the appropriateness of the exemptions for foldable devices; (p) the appropriateness of setting ecodesign requirements for mobile phones with a flexible main display which the user can unroll and roll up partly or fully; (q) the appropriateness of extension of the periods for availability of updates to the operating system; (r) the appropriateness of extension of the period for availability of spare parts.

Regulation (EU) 2023/826 is amended as follows: In point 3 of Annex II the entry ‘other equipment for the purpose of recording or reproducing sound or images, including signals or other technologies for the distribution of sound and image other than by telecommunications, but excluding electronic displays covered by Regulation (EU) 2019/2021 and projectors with mechanisms for exchanging the lenses with others with different focal length’ is replaced by the following: ‘other equipment for the purpose of recording or reproducing sound or images, including signals or other technologies for the distribution of sound and image other than by telecommunications, but excluding electronic displays covered by Regulation (EU) 2019/2021, cordless phones covered by Regulation (EU) 2023/1669, and projectors with mechanisms for exchanging the lenses with others with different focal length.’

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 20 June 2025. Article 6 shall apply from 20 September 2023.