Europe is changing the trend of the mobile industry in many ways lately. The region has come out with a law that mandates USB C as the default charging standard for mobile devices.
And now, it has proposed a new law which will enforce all phone brands to offer three years of OS updates for their devices, and up to 5 years of security support. These terms will have to be followed by all brands selling their phones in the region, if the law is passed.
The support policy is already in line with what Samsung offers with its Galaxy phones in various markets these days, including India. But there are many other brands that continue to default with software updates for their older devices.
Laws like these can put them back on track. Brands have often talked about the high investment required to extend software support for older devices, something that HMD Global had vouched for when it had launched the Nokia Android smartphones a few years back.
But even Nokia has failed to live up to the promise. Samsung has come as a breath of fresh air in this regard, and we are hoping that brands pull up their socks, and make sure that not only their phones get a longer update cycle in Europe, but other markets as well.
The EU has just proposed the law for now, so unless it gets the required votes to pass the bill, brands will continue to dither with their software policy. Going by recent changes implemented by the EU, especially with the charging standards, it would be surprising to see the region not giving the go-ahead for the software update regulation.
The likes of Apple and Samsung could happily accept these terms, but others would have to mend their ways to abide by these new laws, or face action.
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