EN   EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX   
[…](2022) XXX  draft  
 
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council with regard to the energy labelling of smartphones and slate tablets  
This draft has not been adopted or endorsed by the European Commission. Any 
views expressed are the p reliminary views of the Commission services and may not 
in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the Commission.    
EN 1  EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM  
1. CONTEXT  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
This draft Commission delegated regulation sets requirements for the energy labelling and the 
provision of product information for smartphones and slate tablets. The objectives are to 
contribute to the EU climate and energy targets and to the material efficiency objectives set 
out in the Circular Economy Action Plan 2020. More specifically,  this initiative, due to the 
specific design of the energy label, would help deliver on the three specific objectives:  
(a) facilitating repair and increasing durability of these products and key 
components (e.g. battery and display);  
(b) fostering product designs aimed at achiev ing cost-efficient material and energy 
savings; and  
(c) helping consumers make an informed and sustainable choice at the point of 
sale. 
2. CONSULTATIONS  PRIOR  TO THE  ADOPTION  OF THE  ACT  
The consultation activities are described at length in the Annex 2 ( ‘Synopsis report ’) of the 
draft impact assessment. The stakeholders ’ opinions were quite often divergent and polari sed 
between different categories , typically  with original equipment manufacturers on one side, 
and repairers on the other . These opinions can be summarised as follows:  
– the EU Member States cautiously welcomed  the Commission ’s work on potential 
ecodesign requirements and the energy labelling of mobile phones and tablets 
(advocating in particular for the latter the inclusion o f a reparability  score in the 
energy label); at the same time, some concerns were raised  on the testing burden  
(in particular related to the number of devices to be tested).  
– the standardisation organisations highlighted some caveats concerning the direct 
‘use’ (in terms of classifications, definitions), for regulatory purposes, of the EN 
45554 standard, developed in reply to the Commission’s standardis ation request 
M/543.  
– The main industry (original equipment manufacturers) players were proactive and 
participative during the process. While they generally supported the preparatory 
work on the potential Ecodesign requirements for mobile phones and tablets, they 
expressed some reservat ions, in particular on the draft requirements on 
improved reparability and spare parts availability. They were not supportive of 
the proposed energy labelling scheme, claiming that the benefits are not fully 
clear , given that manufacturers are already high ly incentivised to ensure efficient 
phones for end -user satisfaction.  
– SMEs, mainly working in the field of repair, refurbishment and recycling, judged as 
important (a game changer , in some cases) the proposed material efficiency 
requirements on durability,  reparability, upgradability, maintenance, reuse and 
recycling.  
– environmental and consumer NGOs, as well as repairers' organisation, welcomed the 
Commission work on potential ecodesign requirements and energy labelling of 
mobile phones and tablets, while pushing, in some cases, for tighter requirements .  
EN 2  EN Each of the comments was analysed in detail, and changes to the draft regulations were made, 
when feasible and relevant, in particular:  
– attention was given  to elaborate testing methods  that are  not excessiv ely burdensome 
in terms of duration and complexity ; and  
– in the impact assessment, specific estimations were made confirming the relevance 
of the proposed energy label in terms of  the expected energy savings, alongside the 
material efficiency aspects . 
3. LEGAL  ELEMENTS  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
The draft energy labelling regulation  introduces an energy label (for smartphones and slate 
tablets) that contains information on the energy efficiency of the device as well as information 
on material efficiency aspects. T he energy efficiency is determined in accordance with an 
energy efficiency index. The label also contains information related to material efficiency 
aspects, namely:  
(a) the battery endurance per cycle and in cycles;  
(b) the repeated free fall reliability (i.e. how many falls the device can withstand 
while remaining operational),  
(c) the dust and water ingress protection,  
(d) a reparability score, based on scoring criteria (such as disassembly depth, 
fasteners and tools to be used  in the repair process, et c.) set out to rate the 
extent to which products are reparable.   
EN 3  EN COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council with regard to the energy labelling of smartphones and slate tablets  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union , 
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 of the European Par liament and of the Council 
of 4 July 2017 setting a framework for energy labelling and repealing Directive 2010/30/EU1, 
and in particular Article  16(1) thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts as 
regards the labelling or re -scaling of the labelling of product groups representing 
significant potential for energy savings and, where relevant, other resources.  
(2) The Commission has carried out a preparatory study to analyse the technical, 
environmental and econom ic aspects of mobile phones, smartphones and slate tablets. 
The study was conducted in close cooperation with stakeholders and interested parties 
in the Union and third countries,  and the results have been made publicly available.  
(3) The preparatory study con cluded that the scope for reducing the energy consumption 
of smartphones and slate tablets  is substantial. It also concluded that the battery 
lifetime and consequently the product lifetime of smartphones and slate tablets can 
significantly be improved by m eans of an energy labelling scheme . Smartphones and 
slate tablets should therefore be covered by energy labelling requirements. An energy 
label is however currently not seen as appropriate for cordless phones and feature 
phones, given the moderate spread i n the energy efficiency of products available on 
the market.  
(4) In total , smartphones and slate tablets consumed 36,1 TWh of primary energy in 2020, 
including all life cycle phases. The preparatory study showed that, without regulat ory 
action , these values ar e likely to increase to 36,5 TWh of primary energy in 2030. The 
combined effect of this Regulation and [OP: please insert reference to accompanying 
Commission Regulation including ecodesign requirements for smartphones and 
tablets]  is expected to limit th e energy consumption of smartphones and slate tablets 
in 2030 to 23 .3 TWh, meaning 35  % of primary energy consumption is saved 
compared to what would happen if no measures were taken.  
(5) Smartphones and slate tablets that are displayed at trade fairs should b ear the energy 
label if the first unit of the model has already been placed on the market or is placed 
on the market at the trade fair.  
(6) The relevant product parameters should be measured or calculated using reliable, 
accurate and reproducible methods. Thos e methods should take into account 
                                                 
1 OJ L 198, 28.7.2017, p. 1 .  
EN 4  EN recognised state -of-the-art measurement methods including, where available, 
harmonised standards adopted by the European standardisation bodies, as listed in 
Annex I to Regulation (EU) No  1025/2012 of the European Parliam ent and of the 
Council2. 
(7) To facilitate compliance checks, the content of the technical documentation referred to 
in Annex VI should be sufficient to allow market surveillance authorities to check the 
values published on the label and in the product informa tion sheet. In accordance with 
Article 12 of Regulation 2017/1369, values for the measured and calculated 
parameters of the model should be entered into the product database.  
(8) Recognising the growth of sales of energy -related products through providers of 
online platforms, as defined in the [ add reference to the Digital Services Act ], rather 
than directly from suppliers’ websites, it should be clarified that such providers of 
online platforms should enable  traders to provide information concerning the labelling 
of the product concerned, in compliance with Article 31 (2) of the [ add reference to the 
Digital Services Act ]. The ‘i nformation concerning the labelling and marking’ referred 
to in Article 31 (2), poi nt (c) of [add reference to the Digital Services Act ] should, in 
the context of this Regulation, be understood  as encompassing both the energy label 
and the product information sheet. In line with Article 6 of the [ add reference to the 
Digital Services Act ], providers of online platforms are not liable for products sold 
through their interfaces on the condition that they do not have actual knowledge of the 
illegality of such products and upon receiving knowledge on the illegality of the 
products they act ex peditiously to remove them from their interfaces.  A supplier 
selling directly to end -users via its own website is covered by dealers’ distance selling 
obligations referred to in Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369.  
(9) In order to ensure coherence with existing  industry norms, references in this 
Regulation related to fasteners and connectors, tools, working environment and skill 
level, in the context of calculating the repairability score, are consistent with the 
terminology of used in standard EN 45554, wh ich provides g eneral methods for the 
assessment of the ability to repair, reuse and upgrade energy -related products . 
(10) The requirements set out in this Regulation should apply from 18 months after its 
entry into force.  The obligation laid down in Article 3(1 ), point (a), should already 
apply from 14 months after the entry into force of this Regulation , to provide dealers 
with printed labels in order to allow them to comply when relevant requirements enter 
into application.  
(11) The measures provided for in this Re gulation were discussed by the Consultation 
Forum established pursuant to Article  14(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 , 
                                                 
2 Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on 
European standardization, amending Council Directives 89/686/EEC and 93/15/EEC and Directives 
94/9/EC, 94/25/EC, 95/16/EC, 97/23/ EC, 98/34/EC, 2004/22/EC, 2007/23/EC, 2009/23/EC and 
2009/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Decision 
87/95/EEC and Decision No 1673/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( OJ L 316, 
14.11.2012, p. 12) .  
EN 5  EN HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:  
Article 1  
Subject matter and scope  
This Regulation establishes requirements for the labelling of  smartphones and slate tablet s, 
and the provision of supplementary product information on smartphones and slate tablet s. 
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 designed for high security communication.  
Article 2  
Definitions  
1. For the purpose 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, and 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 characteri sed by wireless network connection, mobile use of internet 
services, and the ability to accept original and third -party software 
applications ; 
(b) it has an integrated touch screen display with a diagonal size of  4 inches 
or more but less than 7 inches ; 
(c) where the d evice  has more than one and/or foldable displays , 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 formally approved by the designated 
authority in a M ember State or is in the process of accreditation or other 
formal approval to transmit, process or store classified information ;  
(b) it is intended for professional users only;  
(c) it is capab le 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 ;  
EN 6  EN (4) ‘slate tablet’ means a device that is designed for portability and has the 
following characteristics  t :  
(a) it has an integrated touch -sensitive display with a viewable diagon al size 
greater than or equal to 7.0 inches and less than 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; and  
(e) it is placed on the market with an operating system designed for mobile 
platforms, identical or analogous to smartphones ; 
(5) ‘point of sale’ means a location where smartphone or slate tablet units are 
displayed  or offered for sale, hire or hire -purchase.  
2. For the purposes of Annexes  II to IX , the definitions set out in Annex  I shall apply . 
Article  3 
Obligations of suppliers  
1. Suppliers shall ensure that:  
(a) each smartphone or slate tablet is supplied with a printed label in the 
format as set out in Annex  III; 
(b) the values of the parameters of the product information sheet, as set out 
in Annex  V, are entered into the public part of the product database;  
(c) where specifically requested by the dealer, the product information  sheet 
is made available in printed form;  
(d) the content of the technical documentation , as set out in Annex  VI, is 
entered into the product database;  
(e) any visual advertisement for a specific model of smartphones and slate 
tablet s contains the energy efficiency class  and the range of energy 
efficiency classes available on the label in accordance with Annex es VII 
and VIII;  
(f) any technical promotional material concerning a specific model of 
smartphones and slate tablet s, including technical promotional mat erial 
on the internet, which describes its specific technical parameters includes 
the energy efficiency class of that model and the range of energy 
efficiency classes available on the label, in accordance with Annex  VII; 
(g) an electronic label in the format a nd containing the information, as set 
out in Annex  III, is made available to dealers for each smartphone or 
slate tablet  model;  
(h) an electronic product information sheet, as set out in Annex  V, is made 
available to dealers for each smartphone and slate table t model.  
2. The energy efficiency class and the repeated free fall reliability class as set out  in 
Annex II shall be calculated in accordance with Annex IV.   
EN 7  EN Article 4  
Obligations of dealers  
Dealers shall ensure that  : 
(a) each smartphone and slate tablet, at the point of sale, including at trade fairs, 
bears the label provided by suppliers in accordance with Article  3(1), point (a) , 
with the label or the energy class being displayed in such a way as to be clearly 
visible and unequivocally associated  to the specifi c model;  
(b) in the event of distance selling, the label and product information sheet are 
provided in accordance with Annexes  VII and VIII;  
(c) any visual advertisement for a specific model of smartphones or slate tablets, 
including on the internet, contains the energy efficiency class and the range of 
energy efficiency classes available on the label, in accordance with Annex  VII; 
(d) any technical promotional material concerning a specific model of smartphone 
or slate tablet, including technical promotional material on the internet, which 
describes its specific technical parameters includes the energy efficiency class 
of that model and the range of energy efficiency classes available on the label, 
in accordance with Annex  VII. 
Article  5 
Measurement methods  
The information to be provided pursuant to Articles  3 and  4 shall be obtained by reliable, 
accurate and reproducible measurement and calculation methods, which take into account the 
recognised state -of-the-art measurement and calculation methods, asset out  in Annex  IV. 
Article 6 
Verification procedure for market surveillance purposes  
Member States shall apply the verification procedure laid down in Annex  IX when 
performing the market surveillance checks referred to in Article  8(3) of Regulation (EU) 
2017/13 69. 
Article 7 
Review  
The Commission shall review this Regulation in the light of technological progress and 
present the results of this assessment  to the Consultation Forum established pursuant to 
Article 14(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1369 , no later  than [OP – please insert date  = 3 years 
after the entry into force of th is Regulation] .  
The review shall in particular assess the following:  
(a) the appropriateness of revising  the test methods to reflect changes in typical 
user behaviour and new functionalities;  
(b) the appropriateness of adding environmental footprint information on the label;  
(c) the appropriateness of revising the verification tolerances set out in Annex IX.   
EN 8  EN Article 8 
Entry into force and application  
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twenti eth day following that of its publication in 
the Official Journal of the European Union . 
It shall apply from [OP please insert the date = 18 months after the entry into force of this 
Regulation ].  
However, Article 3 (1), point (a), shall apply from [OP pleas e insert the date = 14 months after 
the entr y into force of this Regulation ]. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.  
 
Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission  
 The President  
 Ursula VON DER LEYEN