Samsung, Apple and Co.: Absurd reasons against repairing smartphones

Various plans are in the works in Germany and the EU to improve the repairability of smartphones and the like. The goals: less waste, more customer satisfaction, lower costs for consumers. Manufacturers like Samsung, Xiaomi and many others are not impressed.

The right to repair should come, that much is already certain in practice. How exactly it will look like, however , there is still some leeway. In Germany, they want to introduce a repairability index that makes it easy to compare smartphones and other devices.

Xiaomi, LG, Apple, Sky: The tech industry and the right to repair

At EU level, on the other hand, there should be far-reaching regulations for manufacturers, for example with regard to designs that can make repairs more difficult. Samsung, Xiaomi, Apple and Co. should also stock spare parts and make repair instructions public. The plan should be a thorn in their side.

For example, the DigitalEurope association, which brings together many industry giants such as Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, but also Google, LG and Sky, put forward some absurd reasons that speak against an obligation to repair: There is talk of security concerns, easier access by hackers and the "loss of sensitive personal, financial or professional data", as the colleagues from Netzpolitik.org have put together.

The quality of the devices would suffer under the specifications as well as the respective brand image. The association's simple conclusion: not every workshop should be allowed to repair everything. Instead, people want to know that they are responsible for the selection and control of the relevant companies. In short, the manufacturers would rather have authorized workshops, so that orders remain in their own hands.

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At least one does not fundamentally oppose an obligation to repairability - nowadays this is likely to go hand in hand with damage to the image of betting law, which one wants to avoid. Apple, for example, has long recognized the advantages and wants to take action.

At the same time, however, more and more manufacturers are taking what are at best puzzling paths that are supposed to lead to more sustainability. The best example: not having a charger for smartphones , which seems much more suitable as an additional source of income than as an economical use of resources.