What does the energy label of your smartphone mean?
Since July 2025, it is compulsory for all smartphones to have an energy label. This shows you instantly how sustainable and energy efficient your smartphone is.
On the energy label, you can see at aglance...
- how efficient your smartphone is;
- how long the battery lasts;
- how sturdy the handset is;
- how easy it is to repair;
- how resistant it is to dust and water.
Handy! It means you can easily compare smartphones by reading the different energy labels.
How do you read the energy label for smartphones?
The energy label gives your smartphone a score in letters on a scale from A (the most efficient) to G (the least efficient). And what is an efficient smartphone, precisely? The longer the battery lasts, the less frequently you need to recharge it and so the more efficient the smartphone is.
In the example, the smartphone has energy class A, making it among the most efficient smartphones.
This refers to the number of hours and minutes the smartphone lasts from a full charge (100% charged).
In the example, the battery lasts for 49 hours and 10 minutes, so more than 2 days.
The label also indicates how well your smartphone can withstand falls and knocks. The score for robustness goes from A to E. Smartphones with an A score can withstand a fall well, and smartphones with an E the least well.
The smartphone in the example has an A score, so it is very robust.
What if you ever need to have your smartphone repaired? Then the label shows you how easy it is to repair your smartphone. For example, is the smartphone easy to open, are spare parts readily available and can the battery be replaced easily. This makes your smartphone easy to repair. The score is from A to E, with A being the easiest to repair and E the hardest.
The smartphone in this example has a C score. This means it is slightly more difficult to repair than smartphones with an A or B score.
The lifespan of your battery is determined by the number of times it can withstand charging and discharging; the number of charging cycles. Has it reached this number of cycles? Then the battery endurance (shown in 2) will be shorter.
The smartphone in this example has 1200 charging cycles. After this number of cycles, you will then have to charge it more frequently.
The last element on the label shows how well your smartphone is protected against the intrusion of dust particles and water. The two numbers after the letters IP show how good thisprotection is:
- the first number (on a scale from 0 to 6): how effectively the smartphone is protected against objects and dust penetration. The higher the number, the better the protection.
- the second number (on a scale from 0 to 9): how effectively the smartphone is protected against water penetration. The higher the number, the better the protection.
The protection in the example has a score of IP48. The smartphone is reasonably protected against dust and is very watertight.
