You might have already read or heard about the TÜV Rheinland certification, especially if you’re looking at electronics like displays or smartphones. You’ll often see it referring to its Eye Comfort Certification, which indicates that the device’s screen has been tested and certified to meet the market’s current safety and quality standards. But what is a TÜV Rheinland Certification, and is it important for us consumers? Find out below.
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What is TÜV Rheinland?
TÜV stands for Technischer Überwachungsverein in German, or Technical Inspection Association, in English. These are a group of independent service companies from Germany and Austria that test, inspect, and certify technical systems, facilities, and objects of all kinds to minimize hazards and prevent damages. TÜV companies are organized in three holdings — TÜV Nord, TÜV Rheinland and TÜV SÜD.
TÜV Rheinland AG is based in Cologne, Germany. It inspects technical equipment, products & services, oversees projects, and helps shape companies’ processes and information security. It also employs a global network of approved labs, testing and education centers.
It also established TÜV Rheinland Philippines Inc. in 1991. In 2006, it ventured into electrical product safety testing to assist the Philippine government in its testing needs and support local industries in accessing the world market. It achieved its ISO/ IEC 17025 accreditation to test various household appliances, audio-video products and luminaires from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) – Philippine Accreditation Office (PAO).
What certifications does it offer?
TÜV Rheinland offers multiple certifications depending on what it is testing and auditing. It includes vehicles, commodities & consumer goods, infrastructure, systems & processes, occupational health & safety, and information security & telecommunications. One of the most common you’ll see is the TÜV Rheinland Eye Comfort Certification for displays, but it also has a certification for smartphones, which we’ll discuss later in this article.
If an organization wants to show the market and its consumers that its products or systems meet the global standard for quality, it will work with TÜV Rheinland to have it tested and audited. A product certificate will be issued if it passes, which confirms that the product meets defined criteria and defined safety-relevant aspects. The certificate also specifies the basic principles according to which a product was tested. Test marks are also provided which manufacturers can integrate into their corporate communications like packaging, websites, and advertising.
According to an end consumer survey, almost 90% of respondents prefer manufacturer advertising statements to be neutrally reviewed and confirmed.
TÜV Rheinland Smartphone High-Reliability Certification
When it comes to smartphones, TÜV Rheinland has the Smartphone High-Reliability Certification, which was created in collaboration with realme. The two companies created standard procedures that will be used for quality control and testing across all realme smartphones. Also, the certification serves as the new quality standard for smartphones in major markets worldwide.
The TÜV Rheinland Smartphone High-Reliability Certification process encompasses 23 major tests, including 10 daily use test scenarios, such as drop, wear, and tear; seven extreme environment test scenarios, including super extreme temperature, extreme humidity, voltage fluctuation, button life, static electricity, air pressure; and six component reliability test scenarios.
The first smartphones to get certified are the new realme C25 and realme C21.
realme’s Quality Control
realme says that there is a 6-stage smartphone design process on how smartphones are designed, developed, and tested in realme’s facility. The Quality Control team is 100% involved in every step of quality checking. If the product fails to meet the set standards, the Quality Control team has the prerogative to redesign the product from scratch.
realme also takes steps to understand how digital natives use smartphones by reaching out to customers and fans to conduct product experience surveys and getting feedback during the mid-product life cycle. This provides realme with data to help it design high-quality smartphones that fit into its consumers’ lifestyles.
For example, since young users prefer traveling and sports, it designed its devices to withstand accident drops in popular outdoor sports such as skateboarding and parkour, the products go through more aggressive drop tests at a height up to 1.8 meters at multiple sides on different surface materials. realme also simulates extreme temperature from negative 40 degrees Celsius to 75 degrees Celsius in an outdoor environmental setting to make sure all realme products can remain to function well.
realme’s fully automated future
realme said that it has been investing in a smart factory that aims to be fully automated in the future. Through it, the company can improve the efficiency and precision of its complex manufacturing processes. One such automation example is the SMT production line, responsible for putting components onto the PCB motherboard. The smart factory’s current automation rate is 87.5%, which is already way above industry standard. With the AI automation capability, the current realme AI smart factory can produce 60 million devices every year.
In essence, realme and TÜV Rheinland collaboration will benefit the smartphone market as it aims to improve the standards currently used in the industry and raise the quality of entry-level models to flagship standards. Both companies also hope to improve the smartphone experience during its initial 3-year life cycle.
Man, I remember Honor phones being TUV certified, those were the days… Good job Realme.