Currently, the most common thing in the world of mobile phones, at least in what concerns the Android field, is that the manufacturer offers two to three years of security updates and that Google, the person in charge of the system, offers at least two great versions of Android. In Apple, iOS territory and iPhone territory, the figures are very different.
In recent times, however, these terms have been increasing in certain manufacturers and for their higher-end phones, such as the four years that OnePlus guarantees in security updates, or the five years that Samsung promises for some of its devices. . But Germany considers this insufficient and wants to force manufacturers through a law to offer at least 7 years. And of course, the manufacturers are refusing.
7 years of security updates and faster parts
The information comes from the German media Heise Online and it describes how the Federal Government of Germany is pressuring the European Commission to force mobile manufacturers to extend the maintenance of its terminals on the continent. As expected and Heise recounts, the manufacturers have already agreed to oppose the measure.
Germany seems bent on increase long-term support for mobile phones and it is trying, before the European Commission, that both Android phones and iPhones see their maintenance time increased to 7 years. This movement would in turn support the Commission itself, as Europe is already trying on its own to increase the maintenance period to 5 years.
The DigitalEuope association, which represents such important figures in the sector as Samsung, Huawei or Apple, has already positioned itself against the German proposal. DigitalEurope proposes that the current standard remains unchanged and that manufacturers are only required to provide two years of updates for the operating system and three years for security.
In addition to this, Germany is putting pressure on the European Commission to vary the repair times for mobile phones as well. The German Federal Government estimates that five days for the supply of spare parts is more than enough and wants to force manufacturers to ensure these deadlines to “increase the reliability and repair capacity of the devices,” said a spokesman for the federal government.
We will see what this whole process is left with, with manufacturers wanting nothing to change, the European Commission proposing to raise the updates to 5 years and Germany wanting to increase the term to 7. The logical thing is that everything ends in a negotiation between all parties and that the current term, the 2 and 3 years mentioned above, ends up increasing with the benefit of users.
More information | Heise Online