Seven years of support for all smartphones. Germany is enforcing the new law

Not only the quality of the hardware but also the software support of the manufacturer contributes to the life of the smartphone. Security patches are especially important to protect your device from attackers. Currently, the unit in the update is Apple, its devices have been receiving updates for at least five years. Android smartphone manufacturers are gradually trying to extend support for their devices, but most of them, especially affordable ones, still have only two years of updates.

The German government is dissatisfied with this approach and, according to the Gizchin portal, wants to pass a law ordering manufacturers to support their facilities for at least seven years. He is currently negotiating this with the European Commission. The law would cover not only safety updates, but also the availability of spare parts and their price.

German government officials believe that longer support will increase the life of smartphones, which would mean that users would keep their current devices longer. This could potentially reduce the production of new smartphones, which would of course improve the environmental situation.

Manufacturers do not like the law, but it would help ordinary users a lot

If the European Commission approves a proposal to introduce seven-year support for smartphones, the law would enter into force in 2023 at the earliest. Manufacturers are, of course, dissatisfied and are asking the Commission to abandon this proposal.

However, for ordinary users, this law could be very beneficial. One survey by StatCounter found that currently about 40% of users still use Android 9.0 smartphones. Most of these devices have long since their support period expired, which means that they are currently prone to cyber attacks. These can affect users in a variety of ways, from annoying ad serving to the system to data and money theft.