Over the past few years, Apple has focused massively on reducing its footprint on the environment, adopting renewable sources of energy and focusing on recycled technology for the devices it makes. Carrying forward that theme, Apple has made an even more focused pitch for making the next iPhone greener than it ever was before. No, the next iPhone may not necessarily be available in a green colour, but will certainly have a lesser environmental footprint than the years before.
For this, Apple says that they are following three commandments. First is to source the components and materials responsibly. The second is to ensure that the products that Apple makes last longer in the hands of the consumer, and finally, once the product has reached its end of life, it must be recycled properly.
In the newest iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max, the company is using recycled tin for the main logic board component. Apple says there is absolutely no negative impact on the quality or performance. As per estimates, this will prevent the mining of as much as 10,000 tonnes of tin ore in a single year.
Apple is also reducing the use of traditional plastic in iPhones. The transition to recyclable and bio-based materials is already happening. For instance, the speaker enclosure in the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max is made with 35 percent recycled plastic. The cover glass frame is made with 32 percent bio-based plastic.
Apple has the ‘Give Back’ program in certain countries where old phones returned to them are disassembled, and whatever can be is repurposed for further use. For that, there is a robot known as Daisy, who can disassemble as many as 200 iPhones every hour. The smallest of components are disassembled with utmost care, and can be reused in newer devices being manufactured. The attention to detail is such that the packaging for Apple products is made from 100 percent recycled or responsibly sourced paper, with minimal environmental footprint.
Apple is extensively implementing these new techniques and using these materials for all their products, including the Apple iPhone line-up including the iPhone XS, and the Apple Watch.
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