It had been in the works for a while, but now it has formally been adopted. From the article:
The regulation provides that by 2027 portable batteries incorporated into appliances should be removable and replaceable by the end-user, leaving sufficient time for operators to adapt the design of their products to this requirement.
In the EU that isn’t as much of an issue when it comes to Android because they mandate that the bootloader must be unlockable (compared to the US at least, cough SAMSUNG cough). So as long as the device is somewhat popular, you’ll always have updates through custom firmware like LineageOS.
Doesn’t help Apple, though they’ve been… surprisingly good with last generation updates lately? iOS 16 can be installed on an 8 year old(ish) phone.
How can the EU target only Android for this unlockable bootloader that you mention? Shouldn’t it apply to iOS as well?
It does apply to both, but there are no real OS alternatives for Apple hardware. Unlike android hardware where there are many custom roms available for most devices.