Apple on track to build devices from renewable raw materials
The new Apple iPhones will feature parts made exclusively from remanufactured rare earths.
US tech company Apple has announced that it will exclusively use recovered rare earths as a key component of its new iPhones.
As stated in the environmental reports, the new iPhone 11 series models will be equipped with a "Taptic Engine" device that allows the iPhone to simulate a physical button press despite being a flat glass panel, with all parts made from reduced rare earth elements (REE).
Recovered REEs will account for about 25 percent of the total rare earths used in each iPhone, the company said, adding that the move could help keep supplies stable.
"It's one of those happy coincidences where what's good for the planet is good for our business," Apple's environmental chief Lisa Jackson told Reuters.
In its 2019 Annual Environmental Responsibility Report, Apple said it recovers nearly 32 kilograms of rare earths from every 100,000 iPhones recyclable, thanks to a robot called Daisy.
Elements such as neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium are used in magnets for audio applications, cameras and haptic technology (touch technology), says Apple in a report. “Traditional refiners do not recover these rare earths because they are used in small quantities and the technology they use is not advanced enough to recover them.”