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In the forth quarter of 2018, 46.89 million iPhones were sold worldwide. That's just the iPhones. Wouldn't it be great if products from Apple were easier to rep
by digitalengineer 7y ago
In the forth quarter of 2018, 46.89 million iPhones were sold worldwide. That's just the iPhones. Wouldn't it be great if products from Apple were easier to repair or upgrade instead of encouraging consumers to buy the latest model? It would also make it easier to recycle. How much mining would that prevent?
- Tepix 7y agoYes, it would be great. On the other hand Apple is already a lot better than the average Android phone when it comes to the availability of software updates, especially security updates by the vendor. However, we still have a long way to go. It looks like mobile phones will last longer now that we are seeing diminishing returns from the yearly updates. Perhaps vendors can be forced to release the software as open source when they no longer support it with security updates?
- keymone 7y agoSo what happens to old iPhones? Hard to believe they are all in a dump somewhere.
- ivanhoe 7y agoI still use my iPhone5 as a 2nd phone, and it's still totally usable after 10 years with the original battery and updates from Apple available until recently. I totally see myself buying 2nd hand iphones to my kids as a cheap solution to keep them off my phone (they're thankfully still young enough not to care about the fashion and brands)
- nerdponx 7y agoWhy is it hard to believe?
- indymike 7y agoIn the bottom of dresser and desk drawers all over the world.
- TeMPOraL 7y agoIn places like China, where labor is very cheap, they're most likely disassembled into parts, which are then used to repair other iPhones - much like it happens with Android phones. In places where labor isn't cheap, I can't imagine where else would they go but a landfill.
- simonh 7y agoHand an iPhone in to an Apple Store or some affiliated retailers, or online and they will recycle it for you for free. They built a family of robots to automate disassembling them.
- peteretep 7y agoThey go to South East Asia where your motorbike taxi guy is using an iPhone 4.
- simonh 7y agoiPhones have industry leading service lifetimes, often being passed on to other family members and there's a healthy second hand market. More Android phones are sold every year than iPhones and on average they are used for less than half as long[1] (average lifespan of a phone less than 2 years, iPhone economic lifetime 67 months). iPhones also have industry leading ratings in recyclability[2]. That is probably the most important factor because it means the materials, including rare earths, could have an in-use life many times longer than that of the phone itself. [1]https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181016142434.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181016142434.h... [2]https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/apple-iphone-recycled-material-ipads-tech-company-samsung-a7693216.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/apple-iphon...
- jacknews 7y ago"iPhones also have industry leading ratings in recyclability[2]" How many are actually recycled though?
- simonh 7y agoOPs criticism was aimed at Apple, but whether they take advantage of the option is really on the owners. Apple is pushing this aspect fairly hard though, because it's another way they can differentiate their product and due to the costs involved it's not something cut rate OEMs can compete on effectively.