Germany is trying to push phone manufacturers towards 7 years of security updates

While major smartphone makers will provide operating system and security updates for between a year to five years on phones, the German federal government is trying to push the number to seven years. The new timeline would give phones more of a computer-like life-cycle, and could reduce the number of phones people buy over a larger span of time, also helping with the e-waste issue.

As per a report by Engadget, Germany is pushing the European Union to reconsider the last proposal of five years of updates and spare parts availability. The proposal, however, is facing criticism from manufacturers. DigitalEurope, an industry advocacy group that represents brands like Apple, Google and Samsung wants a requirement for just three years of updates.