Is This Robot Apple’s Most Important Device Yet?

If the 2.24 billion iPhones sold worldwide could be recycled, could Apple stop mining new materials?! The team developing Daisy, the company's recycling robot, certainly hopes so. In fact, Apple has committed to offering iPhones with 100% recycled cobalt by 2025 and wants to get as much materials currently sitting in retired devices back into the global supply chain. Robert went to see Daisy in action to find out more.
00:00 Robert's at an Apple Facility
00:31 Recycling electronic waste
01:22 Meet Daisy!
02:08 23 models vs the robots
03:57 Reducing the need for mining
05:58 Bash out the battery
06:53 100% recycled cobalt
08:08 Punch out the screws
09:10 Open source recycling
10:15 Sorting the modules
11:10 100% recycled material?
11:57 Make it last longer
12:15 Feed Daisy!
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#apple #battery #cleanenergy #technology #recycle #lithium #cobalt #electriccar #ev #circulareconomy #netzero #supplychain #tech #robot #ai

[@maxkendal5152]

If modern devices were repairable, that would be environmentally friendlier

[@salvadordavinci7]

Fairphone is the brand you're looking for

[@davydrav]

100% agree. If apple really cared that much they would support right to repair.

[@maxkendal5152]

@@davydrav Repairs don't suit the business model. That's why Apple and Samsung make it uneconomic to repair when compared to purchasing a brand new replacement.

[@chidorirasenganz]

@@maxkendal5152 eh more that outside of basic repairs like screen, battery or connectors it’s cheaper and easier to recycle the device than to try to resoder completely

[@-iIIiiiiiIiiiiIIIiiIi-]

@@salvadordavinci7 It still is not available globally. So no, it is not something people should be looking for.

[@jfjoubertquebec]

If they build it with recycling in mind that would be a great step forward.

[@e.lan.s]

Seek for Fairphone

[@secretwpn]

And if they did not hype and then stuff into our throats a new exciting model every few months.

[@universeisundernoobligatio3283]

@@secretwpn Then stop buying the stuff on the bleeding edge.

[@marknelson2073]

@@e.lan.s only in Europe and no more recyclable.

[@secretwpn]

@@universeisundernoobligatio3283 I've never even started doing that. Sadly changing yourself does not mean anyone has to follow. Plus the power of advertisement, etc.

[@zumuvtuber]

I'm all for recycling, but I can't really clap at Apple's recycling efforts when at the same time they do their best to prevent people from repairing their products and provide minimal improvements YoY. Putting the pressure on the consumer by saying things like "we can't recycle the iphone in your drawer if you don't give it to us" isn't a great look for them either, especially if it could've been easily repairable if not for Apple's efforts to prevent that in the first place.

[@zumuvtuber]

@@fullychargedshow I may not have used my words correctly, which may have caused some confusion. I'm sorry about that. I do care about recycling tech that is beyond repair, it's essential not only to reduce mining and all the cons that come with it, but also to give a new life to certain materials and prevent other materials from harming the environment. What I meant was simply that their efforts don't feel genuine, due to their contradictory actions. I hope this clears it up, and I want to emphasise that I really appreciate all the work you guys are doing. Cheers!

[@kempez]

​@@zumuvtuber The biggest reason people will dispose of an old iPhone nowadays is simply that they are well out of date. Screen repair company's, battery replacement and other repairs are all easily available, but there's no point doing it if the phone is so old it's well out of date, slow and can't support the newest features/OS. And many of the major phone's now are a proper pain to repair.

[@dan_]

@@kempez You say those services, like screen repair and battery replacement, are easily available - but Apple are actively trying to make that more difficult with the design of their products. Those services exist despite Apple's efforts, but if things continue as they are don't expect them to be easily accessible in a few years.

[@kempez]

​@@dan_ My point was more that most people get rid of phones as they are EOL and/or upgrade them nowadays. Newer phones are durable and pretty damn tough considering they are a slab of glass, mainly. Should all devices be easier to repair: yes. Is this Apple-specific: to my mind not so much. Not many people will attempt to repair a smartphone themselves,. The same they won't a TV, a watch or anything else complex to assemble. The fact Apple are trying to recycle, should be seen as a good thing. You and I may attempt to repair our devices ourselves but most will not.

[@s0kulite]

@@zumuvtuber do you mind repeating what He commented? He deleted the comment

[@randomjasmicisrandom]

My wife had a new battery put in her old iphone last Saturday. Cost £35 and was done in minutes. This video is brilliant and I really hope fully charged make more like it.

[@rcpmac]

Thanks For the reality check vs all of the naysayers present in these comments

[@bonalba20]

Really? Where did she go for the new battery?

[@randomjasmicisrandom]

@@bonalba20 a shop in Leicester city near the Haymarket. She has had the phone 4 years and it was bought second hand when the last owner, a friend, updated it to the newer model.

[@jaypaans3471]

Must've been an iPhone 6 or something like that. Later models are more and more difficult..

[@Jaxenormus]

@@jaypaans3471 just go to apple

[@peterjol]

this is what we need for almost every product we create

[@NeilBlanchard]

Almost? :-) Everything needs to be repaired, recycled - or composted.

[@davidsamways]

@@NeilBlanchard Yes, but also be satified with what we have rather than constantly lusting after the latest piece of shiney new cr*p.

[@HowP88]

💯

[@HowP88]

​@@davidsamways yeah, that's never gonna happen 😂😢

[@calbackk]

Exactly. Plus every product needs to be repairable with spare parts available for a reasonable time.

[@JeanLoupRSmith]

It's a good start but it's only the tip of the recycling chain. There are a few other things I would like to know about, the first thing being where those iphones come from. Is that people who've traded in their old model that still works perfectly for a newer one? Is it someone who donated their expensive gadget to be stripped for parts? And then what happens to the stripped components, does Apple make more money off them to have someone else actually turn the parts back into useful raw materials? As others have said they need to prioritise reusability and repairability before putting them to be recycled.

[@oliviervanespen5047]

Would they be willing to sell off some of the parts for the repair industry? I am asking for a friend (who moved out of NYC)

[@xxwookey]

I presume that the practice of stmping out all the screw rather than unscrewing them, and yanking out modules using a whizzer means that almost none of these parts remain functional, with at least damaged screwholes and ribbon cables.

[@cmul7651]

I think I know that friend

[@maxkendal5152]

I don't think they'll be selling to any new texans any time soon...

[@ferkeap]

Apple has to invest more in the products to be repairable on documentation and components. And in this to collect certain electronics or batteries for the repairs. And Apple should refurbish more.

[@recumbentrocks2929]

This is the real problem, their phones are not made to last or be repaired. It's all about new products. You must buy the latest model because we do not support the old models anymore.

[@shonunezekiel]

@@recumbentrocks2929 am typing this on a 9 year old macbook air (which admittedly now needs replacing as a work laptop, but may have a second life as a child's homework laptop)... on the other hand, I had the first couple of iphones and they became obsolete so quickly due to the operating system being repeatedly upgraded and bloated until the hardware could not run the software any more, at which point I switched to android phones which, if I have to replace after a few years, at least don't cost silly money.

[@healinglight333]

As someone who lives in modern day Greece and continually sees people searching trash cans to make some sort of a living this was hard to watch and I had to force myself to watch it through the end. Sure it's great that they make this automated devices and that they plan to use recycled cobalt and all the other things they plan to do. It's certainly a step into the right direction. BUT, as many others pointed out in the video they should design them to be repairable also. Plus the software is an issue. It would be great if older devices were supported to do more menial tasks. Also the developers of apps should keep that in mind and support older versions of iOS let's say. And finally the big elephant in the room, planned obsolescence. We should go back to the standard way of thinking and that is to make things last as long as is physically possible. Or at least if you are to make them obsolete be completely transparent about the fact. I know it's not so easy and I am just someone writing a comment on an old laptop that barely runs. Also to my anecdotal experience iPhones are somewhat robust in their structure and Apple seems to at least partially support some older models. But this modern day greed of humans needs to be tackled. Having said all that, of course we need to evolve our recycling techniques, I think that's a given and nobody would argue against it. But we should also try to avoid it as much as possible and only do it when something really has served its full purpose. Anyway, I hope I am not coming out as a pessimist but more of a realist.

[@healinglight333]

@@fullychargedshow Whoa.. That’s a bit insensitive if I may so say myself.. Do I really strike out as a guy who does not care what we do with the iPhones that already exist..? If yes then my comment was totally wrong and did not get my message across. Of course I care. Why wouldn’t I..? And it is painfully obvious that you care too. I am not your enemy. I am someone that recycles as much as possible and even advocates for composting of organic waste. I used to make my own compost also back when I could. And I also try to keep my comsumerism to a minimum. Right now I am writing this message to an iPhone X that I have been gifted and it has a slightly damaged screen. Before that I was using an iPhone 6 that I had also been gifted. So I am trying to use things as much as possible. Also I taught myself through videos how to change the battery in an iPhone and do some other repair. Of course I care. I am not some criminal or something…

[@Eric_the_Hiking]

@@healinglight333 That reply was posted to to every comment that is rightly critical of Apple. I hope that they come to their senses and retract it.

[@healinglight333]

@@Eric_the_Hiking Thank you for letting me know man, I very much appreciate it. Didn’t know that it was a copy pasted response.. It seems it is difficult for some people when you point out things. Or maybe they felt personally attacked which was not the intention of my comment. It was to raise awareness. That’s all. Thank you for replying, much love and much love to Fully Charged too and to everyone in the world. ❤️❤️

[@kelvinfaulkner3183]

I didn't see the replies from FC that were so offensive. I just woke up this morning to see a comment from a fellow FC seedrs investor about this. I also just read your replies to this post of your own plus one other person who I can't recall the name of, and got the gist of the comments from FC. I unfortunately refreshed the page before replying, and now see all replies to your post above have gone.

[@healinglight333]

@@kelvinfaulkner3183 Good morning! 🙂 I can still see the replies to my original comment but thank you so much for taking the time to write this. Don’t know why they don’t appear for you or if others have the same issue… 🧐

[@MRAMAZRBALLZZ]

This is great, but their lack of support for repairing devices and anti consumer practices make this feel a bit hollow.

[@MRAMAZRBALLZZ]

@@fullychargedshow maybe I wrote that wrong, I think you misunderstood. This is crucial, three R's and that. I'm just saying at the same time if you could extend the life of an iPhone (or android, they're just as bad) by a year or two with a new battery instead of a whole new phone then even better. There isn't one solution, it's a range of tools needed and this is a crucial part.

[@em0_tion]

​@@MRAMAZRBALLZZ Fell for the same bait. It's just a copy-paste faceless corp type of an answer, it's like Apple paid them to use a template answer so they can be a good lil slave. 😂🤦‍♂

[@BobQuigley]

If Apple was truly serious they would be able to disassemble any cell phone. Any pad, laptop etc.

[@jimthain8777]

... in minutes with the right tools. Agreed!

[@RPRosen-ki2fk]

Before any product is ever allowed to be manufactured, the system for dealing with its disposal at end of life should in place.

[@em0_tion]

In a world driven by logic and sustainability - yes. Sadly, we all know why they do everything - 💲💲💲. 🤷‍♂😔

[@MLeoDaalder]

Robert: "So make sure to use those devices as long as possible" Apple: "Good video, um, wait, what? No no no, make sure you buy a new one every 6 months, 3 is fine to!" XD

[@therealcaldini]

Their latest version of software supports loads of older versions of the iPhone.

[@MLeoDaalder]

@@therealcaldini and I don't deny that. It's better than most mainstream android manufacturers. But apple would still prefer it if you bought every new device. ;)

[@UncleKennybobs]

@@therealcaldini That's not exactly difficult given they barely change anything. The same software can run on even older versions of the same phone, but they CHOSE not to support them.

[@rcpmac]

@@MLeoDaalder Based on what, that they are a profit making company? You got a problem with that? What else do you own that wasn't made by a profit making company?

[@MLeoDaalder]

@@rcpmac there is no perfect of course. But this seems more like green washing than an improvement. If this is the solution than Fairphone is doing it even better. I don't even need tools or a freezer to get the battery out. Besides, it was apple themselves who were complaining that they needed to scale down production due to lower than expected demand (oh gee, perhaps the record sales were due to the pandemic and now that it's over you could have predicted that demand would be returning to pre-pandemic levels)

[@ThePopeRope]

Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle... Apple needs to work on the first 3 before touting recycling

[@chidorirasenganz]

They already do all of those aside from extensive repairs

[@xxwookey]

@@chidorirasenganz I don't think any company in the phone business is doing much 'reduce'. They all spend a lot of time trying to sell us more phones, sooner.

[@ThePopeRope]

@@chidorirasenganz they are the biggest opponents to right to repair and they go out of their way to prevent repair by serializing components to make sure you can't replace a camera that broke on your phone for example.

[@jericoba]

No, you can improve the recycling process anyway. Apple do repairs, but not 100%. I doubt any company does.

[@ThePopeRope]

@@jericoba they are the biggest opponents to right to repair and they go out of their way to prevent repair by serializing components to make sure you can't replace a camera that broke on your phone for example.

[@Eric_the_Hiking]

That would be great if a lot of these phones didn't get there because of Apple's anti-repair practices.

[@alanmay7929]

Yep that's the biggest issue with their devices to begin with! With their latest M series chips it's going to be even harder to repair those devices

[@chidorirasenganz]

Ehh focusing on repairability above all else would still require an overproduction of spare parts and still would require recycling for broken and obsolete parts

[@xxwookey]

@@alanmay7929 Why are M-series CPU-based devices any harder to repair than what's gone before? The SoC used doesn't affect repairability or recylability - that's almost entirely down to parts availability and design choices (like glued batteries).

[@alanmay7929]

@@xxwookey like I said! Apple now controls almost the whole parts of the components on the device so they even locked it more to make repairs more difficult and won't even allow you to buy the replacement parts.... Integration means absolute control which is bad

[@alanmay7929]

@@xxwookey Louis Rossman has been fighting for that for years

[@amaljoe367]

iPhones are notorious for anti repair measures - like they make it nearly impossible to re-use genuine Apple parts giving weird reasons. Reuse>>recycle

[@AsphaltAntelope]

@@fullychargedshow Geez, why the bad attitude FullyCharged KZbin comment moderator? Long day? Hungry? Have a Snickers.

[@Eric_the_Hiking]

@@AsphaltAntelope We can only hope that this was not straight from Robert.

[@JeanLoupRSmith]

@@AsphaltAntelope They've been posting the exact same comment to anyone who mentions the lack of repairability of iPhones. I think you may be right, someone had a bad day, doesn't justify hitting every comment about this topic with the same canned answer

[@salvadordavinci7]

Fairphone is the brand you are looking for.

[@xxwookey]

@@JeanLoupRSmith I think they are miffed that the reaction to this video has been rather negative. It's their own fault for completely failing to mention the tension and that Apple's waste stream is impressively inflate by their own horrible policies. But yeah, maybe someone (who spent a long time editing this) just had too long a day!

[@markiliff]

I'm pretty much the diametric opposite of an Apple fan, but hats off: this is excellent stuff (though others' points about repairability are spot-on)

[@NeilBlanchard]

Here's another idea - design and build all things TO BE REPAIRABLE, and upgradeable! Like Framework laptops - *every* component is removable by the user, and it is replaceable, and upgradeable.

[@e.lan.s]

Fairphone too!

[@tomastomanek5995]

exactly, why they don't alow to repair iPhone if they are in to ecology so much

[@stephengraham1153]

If the EU's proposed right to repair law becomes reality then manufacturers will have to design and build products in this way if they want to sell into the EU marketplace.

[@NeilBlanchard]

@@fullychargedshow Sorry if I came off the wrong way - I am very happy that Apple is addressing this problem. And I am glad you are covering it! My hope is that not only do we recycle all these kinds of products, but also do everything we can to avoid *having* to recycle so many phones.

[@xxwookey]

@@fullychargedshow Of course we bloody care! That's why we find this totally uncritical episode somewhat objectionable. It's not our fault that you can't see the glaring inconsistency here (or chose not to mention it) between Apple's approach to their e-waste and the fact that they have materially increased the size of their own waste stream by making it impossibly difficult or expensive to keep their kit working. And often with really scummy behaviour that has made an awful lot of annoyed people over the years (as evidenced by this comment section).

[@InimitaPaul]

I paid for my old phones, the components are of value but Apple do not offer good value for those components in trade in so I do not trade them in. If Apple are so concerned with the materials in my old phones they can start offering proper value for them, until then I will be keeping them. I’m not giving Apple free profit on top of that which they got when I bought them, it’s bad enough that I let them F me on the way in, I’m not bending over on the way out too. That’s without mentioning that Apple are only recycling the phones that can’t be renewed and sold abroad for more profit, I’d hazard a guess that the Pareto principle applies here, 80% of traded in phones are probably renewed and resold, that’s great for Apple but not for my wallet.

[@a1asdairpage]

Just pulling numbers out my ass for an example here, but let's say you paid 10 for your phone and you're done with it. You feel the components in it are now worth 6 but Apple is only offering you 5 for the trade-in. So you think it's not worth it and you'd rather leave it in a drawer and next year they're worth 4 and Apple are offering you 3? They're devaluing all the time, why hold onto them if you think they have value now?

[@InimitaPaul]

@@a1asdairpage I’ll use some more realistic numbers but on your scale. Let’s say I did indeed pay 10, I actually think it’s worth 6 but Apple are offering 0.5. The components were never worth anywhere near 10, 3 years after purchase (the point at which I buy a new one) they were worth maybe 4 and Apple are offering that 0.5. 10 years after purchase Apple are still offering that 0.5 for components that are now worth 3.5 so why sell it for so much less after 3 years as opposed to 10 years? Why sell it at all? For Apple 2m x 3.0 profit is a F tonne, for me as an individual it’s worthless so why not give it away? Because it belongs to me, I own those components and as I said previously, I will not have Apple F me on the way in and out of the transaction especially given haw badly I was (admittedly voluntarily) F’d on the way in.

[@a1asdairpage]

​@@InimitaPaul So why do you buy an iPhone?

[@InimitaPaul]

@@a1asdairpage I’ve had an iPhone since the 4s and everything Apple ever since. They were a customer focused company back then for instance, I shattered the screen on my 4s and took it into my local store expecting a huge repair bill, they fixed it for free and they did that for a lot of people. That created a lot of good will from me and it was everything Apple after that, it’s taken a long time for me to get to this point. I’ve been with Apple so long at this point that my entire life is embedded in the ecosystem, everything from the curtains opening every morning down to my solar power system runs through Apple Home. My parents know Apple to the point if they have a problem I can just call them and solve it remotely on screen in minutes and I’m not going to start teaching them Android to share family photo albums and not be able to have them on family subscriptions for various things. Not bending over for Apple on the way out of a purchase is a very minor victory but I’ll take them where I can with Apple, they feel like a parasite these days.

[@spent808]

They could just allow them to be repaired.

[@MykeBinaryMan]

The truly sad thing about this the main drive of this recycling project is profit. Apple would not be doing this unless recycling to produce and sell more products is cheaper than getting diminishing supplies out of the ground. The tech around this is amazing, and hopefully this idea of reuse and recycle gets passed down to more products.

[@rcpmac]

Actually you don't know that.

[@moltiin]

And that's okay. We're at the beginning of the stage where green tech is cheaper than dirty tech and that's a beautiful thing. Progress is sadly incremental and it will take time to fix, but this is a great step forward.

[@rabidbigdog]

Apple's motivation is unlikely to be anything other than cash these days, but they're probably also interested in creating an even more devoted cult-of-Apple (as if that was possible). "Look, my iPhone is recycled!!" (from the five I had before that probably could still be made to work if only the software updates hadn't stopped).

[@natesnautical]

My sentiments exactly.

[@duchampsrook]

Apple is making iPhones to make money? Whoa, you just blew my mind. Welcome to Capitalism 101. At least they are looking at progressive ways in making money. I suppose you’d be happier if they just dumped them into the ocean or a landfill?

[@EugeneLambert]

Never been an Apple fan, due to their business model. But ... this is definitely an important technological development and I'm impressed. Especially the open source commitment.

[@jimthain8777]

Don't kid yourself, (yes, I'm an Apple fan) they aren't making it open source because they're nice. This will be beneficial to THEM, (other companies too), and that's the reason behind it.

[@EugeneLambert]

@@jimthain8777 Thanks, for the condescension. I wasn't kidding myself. If their business is boosted by embracing the circular economy, then fair play to them.

[@FuckMargaretThatchher]

@@EugeneLambert3rd party repair blocks can’t hurt you if you glance over them.

[@RichTeer]

Very cool, but there was one step missing (or at least I missed it): once the phones have been broken down into their component modules, how are THEY sorted in to the bins Robert was standing next to?

[@redishman]

so Apple now optimises recycling. In my country the AUTHORISED RESELLERS offer almost nothing in a trade in. So to recap: You don't actually own your iPhone, anyone that had an iPhone knows that. Now they output one or two iPhone models per year. People buy the new model that they don't fully own, while being encouraged to bring back their old, so they can be recycled so more baby Pandas can be born...right....no, it's all about Apple earning more. And now the recycling it's a big part of that, it's not about the environment, it's about money, as always.

[@rcpmac]

You apparently have never owned an iPhone. Trading in a contemporary phone is worth the majority of a new phone's cost. I just received a $400 credit on my iphone 7! Clearly you are misinformed.

[@redishman]

Winner at drawing the fastest conclusions. I am actually through my third iphone bought new. Lost count on how many I bought second hand, repaired and gave away or resell. Do you live in Romania? I do…so I know what they offer here is miles away from what you get there.

[@moony2703]

Wish they were more repairable so this was needed less but at the same time this tech is amazing. Will be interesting to watch cross brand recycling going forward as well.

[@rkan2]

So 2.4 million devices people can no longer use? Lul. Could've instead made a repair robot for refurbishing and testing them phones to resell them! Doesm't even seem that far off!

[@rkan2]

@@fullychargedshow Bot alert? At 0:56 Patrick clearly says 2.4 million.

[@em0_tion]

​@@fullychargedshow We are on the same side, so why are you buying into Apple's false premise? Those are most certainly NOT devices beyond repair, I can clearly see perfectly good looking (AT LEAST mechanical) parts on them. Maybe their marketing is working on you, but my trained repair eyes ain't blind, those phones are needless e-waste. Yes, I commend them for finding a more efficient way to save money (make profits) by reusing raw materials and machines instead of "wasting" money and time on manual labor, but they also waste incredible amounts of energy into producing and recycling tech that doesn't need be destroyed like that in the first place. REDUCE-REUSE-.........................................................................recycle.

[@metalhead2550]

It would be interesting to know the energy per ton of this system & associated recycling processes vs. pure refinement & extraction. If I'd have to guess I'd say it'd be an order of magnitude better. Also I echo the repairability comments voiced by others, Louis Rossmann is a fantastic advocate and investigator on this front.

[@mattsword41]

got a working ipad mini. 32bit so no longer supported. Still has life in the hardware but cant update software, cant install open source os/linux so it will soon have to be recycled when it could just be used. This Apple stuff had a touch of the greenwash about it

[@UncleKennybobs]

You probably could get Linux on it, but yes, they make it as difficult as possible.

[@leswallace2426]

Even with reuse and repair these phones will still come to end of life sometime and need recycling so this video isn't necessarily total greenwashing - and some of us hold on to a model as long as we can not discard it as soon as the new model appears. I do remember a story though from the late 1960s of a rep from Hoover who told a bunch of under graduates that they'd improved sales of a product by making a part so that it would break down sooner rather than later and putting it in a position where it was difficult to access making repair/replacement difficult - so it was ditched and a new one bought. There's a lot of this and it's been going on for decades.

[@stephengraham1153]

I have had the same vacuum cleaner for over 30 years. I have replaced various components over the years, including replacing the motor twice. In that time I could have replaced it 3 or 4 times at least, but I kept it out of landfill for price of a few pounds.

[@litestuffllc7249]

If Apple really cared about the environment - they'd make their phones so they don't become junk in the first place. Many people in the world do not have a phone; making them last would allow the phones to be passed down. They could -have upgradeable memory, they could have upgradeable CPUs, they could make it so you can always use the next OS version; they could properly protect their circuits from water; and design them so they dont' short so easily. They could keep with one dataport, they could stay with one charging port, they could do so many things to keep iphones going and going but they opt for the more profitable built in obsolecence because that is good for profits. So don't tell me about their recycling efforts - they themselves caused most of these expensive phones to be useless junk.

[@stephengraham1153]

Absolutely! I am sure there are tens of millions of people in the poorer parts of the world who would welcome a repaired/refurbished iphone.

[@litestuffllc7249]

@@fullychargedshow That was really my point - they typically are not beyond repair particularly in low labor cost countries like India where salvaging a phone is valuable. Certainly parts are of value. I know very well that Apple will take in phones they "claim" are unrepairable and sell a customer a new phone. Many phones Apple says can't be repaired can be... If you have any doubts I think there are two youtube channels where board level repairs are done and phones made to work; and peoples data salvaged .. Apple does nearly everything they can to make phones unrepairable and they do nothing in order to facititate parts to responsible repair locations.

[@jaypaans3471]

You're so right! Fairphone does a nice job at this :)

[@bromson4459]

I find it hard to give Apple much credit for this, the steps daisy automates would be redundant if these or any modern smartphones( exceptions like fairphone exsist) would be repairable and easy to disassembel. The Challenge of the Recycling lies in what is done with the broken down phones. Batteries, screens and pcb's are not easily broken down into their raw materials and that i do not see adressed here. Still good that the electronics industry is starting to have to find solutions to their own mess. Let's hope it is not another shiny greenwashing effort

[@rcpmac]

Too difficult for you to take the win and give any credit? Sad.

[@thelorax9622]

I use my iPhone 6 Plus as an internet radio - it doesn't hold a charge for a long time but it works well as a bedside radio if you plug it in.

[@healinglight333]

I tried to push the idea to my mother of using my old iPhone 6 to listen podcasts but she's even more traditional than that, she prefers just plain old good radio through an old device and I don't blame her. It's much easier for her to learn how to operate a couple of buttons and not ever have to think about passwords and whatnot. :)

[@DanielMcGregor]

Apple should take note of modular Fairphone Smartphones and modular Framework Laptops. If you only need to recycle the part that is actually broken, you make the least environmental damage. The only thing Daisy does efficiently is to make sure that Apple products stay hard to repair.

[@MaxCaud]

Always crying never happy. I think Apple should stop recycling and making research in this area open source just to give you more things to complain about. Now go virtue signal about whatever doesn't cause to much inconvenience for you.

[@MrAdopado]

I've never ever met anyone who has bought a modular smart phone or laptop. They are available ... but I bet hardly anyone complaining in these comments owns one. Instead they blame Apple and buy nearly the same thing from another brand which is doing even less to promote re-use and recycling.

[@roscoecoltrane6867]

Can we assume you will do a similar video of what Samsung do for recycling?

[@salvadordavinci7]

Call out to Fairphone, a phone brand that let's you FIX your own phone. They also sell the (cheap) spare parts, everything sustainability sourced.

[@salvadordavinci7]

Still, these robots are awesome developments, but feels weird to brag about Apple's marerial use with so clearly planned break down of their products.

[@GilesWendes]

OR REPAIR?

[@yips_way]

I have just got my first smartphone - it was a hand down from my grandson as I felt no need to have one otherwise & certainly wouldn't buy an Apple product out of choice!. I just wish people would use things for longer when they are perfectly fine instead of feeling the need to renew so often. Doesn't help that Apple also make it nigh on impossible to get them repaired economically. Designed obsolescence (waste) at it's worst. And please don't reply ​@Fully Charged Show with your copy/pasted reply - we do care!!!

[@JackieWelles]

Love this video and was extremly excited to see it. Thank you again for the amazing content which never dissapoints! Cheers!✌️

[@leswallace2426]

This is very encouraging because I think there's a scope for robotics in what's called Landfill Mining - opening up old landfills and extracting materials for reuse and recycling. That's obviously a very messy and complex job, but if you think of the metals, timber, plastics, organics locked away in billions of tonnes of 'waste' buried to be out of sight out of mind that's actually a vast resource which as natural ones are depleted will become ever more financially valuable to extract and also there will be ever more pressure to prevent destruction of wilderness and wildlife habitat.

[@andreasdietzel5560]

Does anyone know the break down of those acclaimed 20% of recycled materials in apple's products? I reckon you could probably get to 20% fairly easily by recycling the aluminum used in housing. Is it mainly the low hanging fruit or are they actually making a dent in those materials notoriously hard to recover?

[@leeroychang]

Is this what silicone heaven looks like? It does exist!

[@danielhandika8767]

As a phone repairman, seeing those robots disassembling iPhone with such brute force gives me mixed feelings

[@shonunezekiel]

Love love LOVE this episode! More clever machines doing useful things please 😀 6:46 "...and then we actuate it..." (engineer speak for 'whack it a couple of times')

[@benbocc1549]

Great episode. We need more of this at a bigger scale across all tech. (Daisy can do 2mil/yr rn, 150mil iPhones sold in 2022). Step it up guys! Legislate it please.

[@NA-rh7iy]

What if Apple was not pushing people to buy a new phone every 6 months and stop make them totally un-fixable ?

[@universeisundernoobligatio3283]

Know one if forcing you to buy one.

[@UncleKennybobs]

@@universeisundernoobligatio3283 No one is forcing you to use a spell checker. Clearly.

[@rcpmac]

Apple does not release phones every 6 months. No one is forcing anyone to by a new one. Anyone trading in last years model gets a huge credit and those phones are refurbished and sold on apple's website at a discount.

[@universeisundernoobligatio3283]

@@UncleKennybobs Speel checher si taht whst yuo taknig bout??

[@toby9999]

Pushing? People do have functioning brains, right?

[@mpspuij]

Maybe apple should take care that we can use their electronics longer. I have to dump a good iMac pro after 9 years or now my iMac after 7 years because it is getting so slow that it becomes unworkable. It is not the cunsumer.....

[@maxkick7656]

This fabric is SO SMALL. They would need like x1000 of them to even come close to 100% recycling

[@raidengl]

If the Fully Charged live show came to Colorado, I'd be there in a heartbeat.

[@markcayer4859]

FullyChargedLive Vancouver Canada in Sept. 2023 and San Diego in October 2023.

[@xirfan]

I'm still using an iPhone 6s so this vid made me wince a little.

[@ThomasZadro]

And now, think how environmentally friendly it would be if Apple would make its devices repair friendly. The bin we see in the video was half as full.

[@willlehrfeld457]

This is fantastic Robert, thank you.

[@BobsWebofWonder]

I have had my smart oppo phone for over five years. Still a wonderful phone. Used every day. Just replaced on off button. Battery still going strong. Easy to repair so I will replace the battery in the future..

[@badllama8090]

I had iphones from day one, im possibly partly responsible for the initial craze on them in my then town, but after the initial 'get one everytime a new one is launched, i quickly decided to hold on to mine for as long as possible, my last iphone (XS Max) lasting for nearly 5 years before changing. Love the channel guys, GREAT relevent content. 👍👏👌🤘🖖🤙✌🍻

[@DavidKnowles0]

Innovation on phone technology have basically maxed out now.

[@rcpmac]

Good! I just upgraded from a 7+ which honestly could have lasted a couple more years. Never had to repair it and did the upgrade to get a better camera.

[@jbmaru]

This robot should have a big Apple logo tattooed on its arm, that would be so much better😉

[@fortheloveofnoise]

I don't know about the end of the iPhone, but I do know that the factory in China had to put up a lot of nets to stop workers from ending themselves.

[@s0kulite]

Recycling unrepairable phones sure are environmentally friendly!

[@johnpaulmolloy8127]

Daisy? 2001 reference methinks

[@homeroramirez6462]

Wow, what amazing robot “Daisy”. Specially serving as an alternative to current recycling processes, but, most important, see how “Fully Charged Show” diversifies its content not only to cars, but everything related to energy sources and tech. Thank you for this. ❤

[@filmweaver2013]

Hate them or love them, this is a noble step towards environmental protection... People talk about reparability, but for an ecosystem like apple to work as flawlessly as they do, anyy engineer would know how impossibly difficult it is to design products that have to work flawlessly, be idiot-proof for repair, modular, look fancy, be of highest quality build.... There are a multitude of mechanical design problems that just make it more expensive to do that

[@thanapatc]

Thank for this video. I always wonder how DAISY work and completely understand after watching this.

[@timrowledge7152]

My 2010 iPhone 4 is still working perfectly well for my use cases - and my even older iPhone 3 still suits my wife. Both on original batteries. And my 2014 iPad Air 2 is still my main reading/watching tool.

[@stunimbus1543]

Why the fixation on cobalt when the tantalum in the capacitors is the worst conflict mineral?

[@winnipegnick]

It would be great if all the big manufatures started doing something similar with each and every gadget. So Cell phones, tablets, Laptops, TV's, smart watches etc. Hopefully Samsung, LG, Google, Acer, Dell all are doing something similar. Heck, it would be nice to include all of the companies that make products.. Tools, Appliances, etc.

[@Aco747lyte]

I've got an old iPhone, but am very attached to it for the enjoyment of playing favourite games that were not put on new phones. Also I enjoy using my old phone for picture taking and its still excellent editing software and usable apps, so I'm not intending to give it up just yet. This video was pretty entertaining, so thank you. 🙂

[@EliotHochberg]

This is very impressive, but it makes me wonder if this recycling research has cycled back into Design to make the phones more easily recyclable?

[@rcpmac]

They are easily recyclable.

[@EliotHochberg]

@@rcpmac First, that's obviously not true, as they had to create an entire robot system to do the recycling. But... Perhaps I'm not clear I don't mean the component metals, etc. I mean the manner with which the devices are made. Perhaps if they didn't use as much glue, for instance, they could be disassembled more easily.

[@DavidKnowles0]

A interesting video. Could you do one about recycling clothing, it seems very hit and missed.

[@mattt9640]

I think this is fantastic and the more Apple and others can move towards 100% recycled phones is great news. Apple is there to make profits and it obviously wants us to buy new phones every couple of years - I don’t have an issue with this approach. The quicker they can get to 100% recyclable and make profits is fantastic for everyone.

[@DogsBAwesome]

keeping old phones in circulation is better for the environment than recycling but that would lose them money.

[@em0_tion]

FACTS 💯

[@kaydesign]

This facility is build in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Fascinating stuff ⚡️🛠

[@DamienWhite]

Great video, do we know what other tech brands do with their products once they inevitably reach EOL?

[@UncleKennybobs]

There's plenty of companies that take old electronics for recycling. Even white goods manufacturers recycle.

[@jwtfpv8957]

A recycled Apple iPhone. Now there's an idea. Perhaps they could call it a Rotten Apple? I'm in!

[@therealcaldini]

This is great. I’m still on my iPhone X but it’s on its way out and I’ll want to replace it rather than repair it. It’ll probably get a second owner through Cex but after that I hope it gets recycled like this.

[@FreerideCenterStubaiOffpiste]

thanks for the great video!

[@bill_heywood]

Great video. I have loads of old smart phones kicking around, if I knew they could be properly recycled like that, I’d gladly take them for recycling

[@rcpmac]

Why haven't you traded them in? Apple has been recycling for years now.

[@bill_heywood]

@@rcpmac never owned an Apple phone...

[@matthewknobel6954]

maybe manufacturers should think about allowing upgrade and fixing and recycling of their products instead of design for dumping.

[@mason.berlin]

thy for this video

[@nicennice]

Sure recycling is important but nowhere near as important as consuming less and having products that can be maintained - Apple. Rare metals are going to get more and more expensive so this is all about the bottom line for Apple. Don't dress it up as Apple saving the world.

[@toby9999]

Not really.

[@gedaliaw]

An extremely valid point. Apple's profitability is based on customers buying a new phone every year, but they can easily last 3-4 years. The biggest impact to the environment would be for manufacturers to get out of the annual product life cycle. That's just not going to happen though as they're focused on growing sales not reducing them. If they can get close to 100% recycled products, that would make a massive impact to e-waste.

[@welshalan]

Reduce, reuse, recycle. Why do the phones only last 4 years? Software updates and dying battery chemistry. Bring back the removable and replaceable battery and update software for longer. We don't need 3 major versions of the operating system. We need the one we bought initially with the phone, to remain secure and if not, open it up to another software developer to provide extended support.

[@petersilva037]

Phones have personal information on them, and even if you clear them, people can recover them using forensic techniques. I have a pile of phones in my house because I don't trust anywhere where I could drop off the phone to actually recycle, and ship it through 5 resellers where someone will attempt to repair and resell the device, with the potential for someone to recover the data for malevolent purposes. If I could go to a place where I see my device shredded, they would get a lot of phones, tablets, and other flotsam from me.

[@amaljoe367]

Dont worry. Phones and computers these days take extra measures to format devices during factory reset to ensure personal information is cleared beyond recovery. For example in windows 10 they write and re-write the drive during reset to make sure it is not easy to recover personal information. Data recovery is not as easy or inexpensive as it seems. Don't be afraid to give your devices the new life it deserves.

[@TheHennes36]

I understand the people here bringing up Apples questionable design practices when it comes to repairability but I have to say that it’s still great to see that Apple is aiming to minimize its resource use (on a corporation level) - and sure it’s not to save the world but rather to become more profitable (their simply optimizing their business to take in as little mined materials as possible as they become more and more expensive). But I think that’s the amazing thing for the environment: Green tech becomes slowly not only feasible but might soon even surpass conventional tech. So although from a consumer perspective apple still might suck in terms of repairability at least it doesn’t do so anymore when it comes to the planet! And that’s still a big win for all of us!

[@antzkiwi]

Note to self, next time I spend the winter in Antarctica, don't try to use my phone outside in the middle of winter or the glue will fall apart.

[@cg986]

Such bright minds!

[@jcjensenllc]

Most of the cobalt mined is used in oil refining to remove Sulphur.

[@KiwiShoot]

Wow what an amazing story ! Thanks !

[@rangiemike]

Fascinating video, thank you

[@princecharmingthemerman]

What I do when I get a new phone or tablet is I give my mama the old one and her old ones if they can't be sold we take them to a hazardous waste / electronic recycling facility in our town. I also make sure that all of our worn out Electronics and the cabling get recycled. Actually really anything that is at the end of its life, if it can be recycled I find out how and make sure it does. One last thing my neighborhood just had our asphalt resurfaced meaning a fresh layer of asphalt was applied to repair any cracks. The company we used, uses recycled material for their asphalt, such as old tires.

[@WindyJAMiller]

Where can I send broken mobiles fir recycling in the uk?

[@stevezimmerman5644]

Didn't Apple admit they had been prematurely slowing down people's older devices via the update process? It's all very sweet that they called it Daisy but I think everyone has figured out the real answer to the problem and it's not continuing to promote overconsumption and Daisy. It's like trying to tackle gun crime by building better hospitals.

[@ReedHarston]

I think you might be thinking about the battery situation. They did slow down phones with old batteries, by a little, and only when the battery was at a low percentage. And they only did it to keep the phone from randomly turning off. As someone who once owned an older iPhone that would randomly turn off I welcomed that change. The only problem was Apple didn’t communicate what they were doing very well and there was mass confusion about it. As for consumerism I totally agree, but *eventually* everything gets to the end of its life and you’ll need a new one, even if it’s ten years later, and Daisy will be just as useful in that situation too.

[@stevenpelayo9418]

Well done!

[@insolidusyt]

Ahhhh yes, the famous disassembly robot that Apple built in 2018 that was so super important for them that they now have 2 after 5 years. Yes, Apple sure is committed to recycling and reclaiming their products. Never doubted them.

[@keysejkeysej]

in my opinion they should disassembly it after tests and from broken iPhone use parts one more time. so probably in poor countries they can sell renewed iPhones with exchanged batter, speaker microphone after some cleaning and refreshing things. then the mainboard screws, flex connectors, screens can be reused so most of components can be reused. even some trusted used reselling option without so complex renewing will be possible. for example I will buy used iPhone with new battery tested and certified with 6 month guaranty from apple for 100$-150$... of course the last stage with really broken phones to old after some water inside they can melt like there...but why don't reuse screws, bezels, some flex, cables? design it to have the same in new model and then you can reused, have bigger mass production. (if the antenna cable will be the same for 3 models they made 3 times more the same one, less stock, less magazine, less transportation etc..)

[@Yanquetino]

Expendables. Makes me wonder if we'll be next. Soylent Green.

[@em0_tion]

If? Next? They are destroying OUR planet and psychology for their profits, it's already done and clearly we can't stop it. It was an entertaining fluff piece though. Perception is more important than actions. 😐

[@RetinaBurner]

I'm normally not a big fan of Apple, but I have to say that this is impressive. Nicely done on their part to making this happen, and also for open sourcing the idea to as great an extent as possible. Also, someone please make a good meme of Robert chomping an iPhone, that was a funny moment. Also, I'm with Max Kendal in that repairability is definitely preferable. But, that said, sooner or later, all phones die. :)

[@cheeseheadfiddle]

If the phone was designed to be recycled in the first place they wouldn’t have to do these incredibly complex backflips to break it down at end of life. It’s clearly like, “oh we need to figure out how to recycle these damn things!”

[@hamshackleton]

About 15 - 20 years ago, there was a UK company offering to buy old phones, all that was required was we sent the model number in. I was told that they had no value at all, and they wanted ME to pay THEM to dispose of them if I paid the carriage to send them in! Needless to say, they are still in the back of the drawer!

[@UncleKennybobs]

Charities will take them for free.

[@kesgreen4639]

Samsung paid me £250 to trade in my old phone (Galaxy S5!)

[@hamshackleton]

@@kesgreen4639 Maybe, for a working 'smart'phone, but a cheap pay-as-you-go that is on a discontinued network is worthless.

[@kesgreen4639]

@@hamshackleton well that's certainly true, yes. I still have a couple of pre-smartphone phones in a drawer somewhere.

[@SW-lw6mt]

Apple should be applauded for these initiatives, every tech company should be mandated to take back their products and invest in these recycling programs to make sure we can maximise mineral recovery. My refurb iPhone 7 should be good for a few more years but when the day comes to replace it I hope there's a 100% recycled iPhone.

[@caladanian]

Just build a Daisy in every Apple store!

[@Marie579]

And one of the reasons for so much waste being recycled, Apples notorious built in obsolescence policy from day of purchase with software updates! And it's deliberate non repair policy serial numbering nearly every thing except the screws! Pure Greenwashing! But some sort of start.

[@jericoba]

It's not just Apple.Besides, technology changes more rapidly today. We need a recycling process regardless of what you may thing the company is up to or not.

[@Marie579]

@@jericoba Good point, technology is so transient these days. I come from the audio cassette / CD time so everything was less " upgradable " it was just usable.

[@UncleKennybobs]

@@jericoba Phone technology has stagnated for years. There's literally nothing new on the market and Apple are never the first there when there is.

[@jericoba]

@@UncleKennybobs Sometimes technology in one field reaches a threshold, or plateau if you will, and devices are more refined. That is not necessarily something bad, and no, Apple has made several important progresses on the PDA department, so you are completely wrong. One should not depend on solely one company to develop everything anyway. There are competitors to choose if you are displeased with something. There will be "bigger" progress in the PDA field again, I'm sure. You just have to be patient.

[@kennethjessop6073]

Will we have to make recycling machines to recycle the old recycling machines?

[@antoniocirino8444]

How much energy is required for recycling a single iphone from these machines? I am studying the LCA Analysis around the recycling and material recovery of consumer electronic devices.

[@rayoflight62]

Apple iPhone components, including the battery, are digitally serialised using encryption, so that they can't work in other phones. Apple don't allow anybody else to reutilise the parts inside an iPhone. This would be infinitely more efficient then grounding the phone components to dust to recoup the raw materials. "Daisy" was the song that HAL, the computer aboard the Spaceship in 2001: Space Odyssey begin to sing when Dave Bowman deactivated it. At least the designer of the robot has some literary sensibility...