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Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

theregister.com

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Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#191

Post by oblio »

WarmWash wrote: post #141
wolvoleo wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We shouldn't really want a silicon valley. See how much trouble the US has trying to get meta to stop abusive practices to minors. Not having a silicon valley is a good thing.

The US isn't totally dependant on foreign states to have a modern economy. Delete the US and China and all Europe has left is 6 weeks vacation.

LOL :-)))

Ever heard of China? The US probably imports 50% of its industrial parts, machinery, finished products from China.

Europe also has plenty of big industrial companies, BASF, Bayer, German auto companies, pharma companies, French and Dutch agriculture, etc.

What do you think we all do over here? Wear wooden clogs, eat baguettes with wursts?

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#192

Post by wolvoleo »

oblio wrote: post #191
WarmWash wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US isn't totally dependant on foreign states to have a modern economy. Delete the US and China and all Europe has left is 6 weeks vacation.

LOL :-))) Ever heard of China? The US probably imports 50% of its industrial parts, machinery, finished products from China. Europe also has plenty of big industrial companies, BASF, Bayer, German auto companies, pharma companies, French and Dutch agriculture, etc. What do you think we all do over here? Wear wooden clogs, eat baguettes with wursts?

> What do you think we all do over here? Wear wooden clogs, eat baguettes with wursts?

Personally I have done both In fact I really feel like a baguette with bratwurst now :P And a 6-week holiday come to think of it.

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#193

Post by ahartmetz »

oblio wrote: post #94
WarmWash wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Europe had the opportunity to create a silicon valley 30 years ago. They fumbled it so badly that most euro tech talent went to the US and worked or even founded their companies there. They still have not (and likely never will) implement the general reforms needed to create fertile grounds for tech to compete with the US. If the current EU mindset existed 150 years ago, they would have banned steam engines because t…

> Europe had the opportunity to create a silicon valley 30 years ago. I really like history but nothing like this come to mind, I'd be happy to read about it, what exactly did they do/not do?

Not exactly that, but one thing that comes to mind: Germany was about to switch the phone network to fiber with data service in the late 80s(!), but then Helmut Kohl (CDU chancellor) decided to build TV cable instead. He wanted to promote private TV stations because the public ones weren't conservative enough for him. Spoiler: Private TV stations ended up doing barely any political programming anyway.

Technical note: For some years, the few regions that got the OPAL optical network had the worst internet, but that problem would not have occurred with OPAL everywhere: Fiber can always be upgraded at the endpoints, the numbers were just too small to develop the technology.

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#194

Post by juntoalaluna »

philipallstar wrote: post #68
juntoalaluna wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the food hygiene ratings are a regulatory thing - https://ratings.food.gov.uk - places are required to show their stickers by law. I'm not sure how the Scores on the Doors website, which is at least related to TripAdvisor, fits into all of this...

It shows the ratings that are provided by food standards inspectors.

Ah, ok, but so does the official government website. I'd never heard of Scores on the Doors until yesterday.

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#195

Post by disgruntledphd2 »

streetfighter64 wrote: post #105
disgruntledphd2 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Soon you'll end up regulating all phones to be modular. That would be great, obviously there would be tradeoffs (not as thin, potentially less waterproof) but that seems like the right direction to go in.

I don't really see the value of regulation requiring a certain preference, given that there are tradeoffs. I owned a modular phone previously, and it was, as you say, not as thin and not waterproof, and not dustproof either. Given that it takes like 30 minutes to change the screen or battery on my current phone (which is not modular), I don't see why my preference should be disallowed by EU regulation?

> I don't really see the value of regulation requiring a certain preference, given that there are tradeoffs.

Reducing the amount of manufacturing for phones, and thus reducing the impact of the species on the environment is an extremely sensible goal, given that basically all resources are limited.

If you can do that while making things cheaper for your populace, then it's a double win.

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#196

Post by Markoff »

library8848 wrote: post #26

It's going to be cool to get user-replaceable batteries back in new phone releases. Depending how it goes I can see myself keeping a spare instead of a powerbank

It is not going to happen, because pretty much all major phone makers have exemption since their battery has still enough capacity after 2 years of use to be eligible for exemption.

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#197

Post by maccard »

zelphirkalt wrote: post #112
maccard wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but every EU member has a clear agency for consumer complaint, and I don't buy it that it is hard for consumers to report violations, The problem is the response is toothless. I reported Amazon for a violation to ICO in February 2019, received an automated email a month later asking for a swathe of information, replied to that, and 3 months later got an update that it would be assigned a Case Officer. That was the…

If the severity of punishment for violations was high enough, we would only need very few example cases, before it stops.

severity of punishment does not correlate to reoffending rates. We’ve seen this time and time again. Consistency of enforcement does.

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#198

Post by maccard »

ragall wrote: post #137
maccard wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will say; > will it cost me more to comply, or more to ignore? Is an (unfortunately) American view of things. The vast majority of European businesses I’ve worked with attempt to comply with the _spirit_ of the laws, while my experience with most American companies is they try to skirt the letter of the law to do whatever the hell they want. I’m not saying one is better, or that all companies in both places are lik…

I'm saying the European way is better.

I mean, I agree. But it also has some drawbacks. Uber is a perfect example of this - they completed ignored the existing taxi and private hire laws, ate the penalties left right and centre and while they still suck they dragged taxis kicking and screaming into the 21st century in the UK. The days of being overcharged by a driver who takes a notion and a new route, or finding out the card machine isn’t working at your destination are gone, and that’s because Uber forced them to stop acting like an actual Cartel.

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#199

Post by maccard »

mitxela wrote: post #170
maccard wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t that the case already for most devices? I can pay £80 and have a guy show up in a van and replace the battery in my iPhone in his van in 30 minutes or so.

The guy has trained himself to replace iPhone batteries and carries special tools for each model of iPhone in his van because it's not a simple process. The new law says he should only need a screwdriver set (roughly).

> something that can be done by a moderately skilled person with a moderately well stocked toolbox in an afternoon

This is what the OP said, and what I was replying too.

Re: Smartphone makers don't bother to comply with EU repairability requirements

#200

Post by streetfighter64 »

disgruntledphd2 wrote: post #195
streetfighter64 wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really see the value of regulation requiring a certain preference, given that there are tradeoffs. I owned a modular phone previously, and it was, as you say, not as thin and not waterproof, and not dustproof either. Given that it takes like 30 minutes to change the screen or battery on my current phone (which is not modular), I don't see why my preference should be disallowed by EU regulation?

> I don't really see the value of regulation requiring a certain preference, given that there are tradeoffs. Reducing the amount of manufacturing for phones, and thus reducing the impact of the species on the environment is an extremely sensible goal, given that basically all resources are limited. If you can do that while making things cheaper for your populace, then it's a double win.

Seems like we very quickly went from "there are tradeoffs" to "modular phones are objectively the best in all aspects". So, where's your proof of that claim? In my experience (as stated above) it's not the case.

The modular phones I've owned probably used more resources than the non-modular ones, because I needed to repair them more often. But hey, at least the repair was marginally more easy.

And yes, modular phones might have gotten better the last few years. But then you need to show that, not just claim it.

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