One thing today in tech – Apple highlights net zero efforts with iPhone 15 and Watch 9

One Thing Today in Tech

In today’s episode it’s all about Apple. And of course, the company didn’t disappoint with the many incrementally faster, better features with innovations that combine both hardware tech and software ingenuity, as it launched the iPhone 15 series of smartphones and the Apple Watch 9 series, yesterday.

For example, a double tap of your thumb and your index finger, of the hand on which you’re wearing an Apple Watch, will now let you do a bunch of new things, from answering and ending phone calls to bringing up various apps and notifications.

Or take the iPhone 15 Pro models, which have titanium bodies, making them tougher and lighter. I’ll do a deep dive into this in the coming days, and you can of course just check out all the new features on Apple’s website. Oh and the switch to USB-C happened.

What caught my imagination, however, was the iPhone maker’s progress towards its 2030 goal of being carbon neutral across its supply chain.

And yesterday, Apple provided updates on several fronts on its progress – from increased use of recycled materials across its products to energy and water use in its operations to more supply chain partners committing to making their own operations carbon neutral, to the end results – products that don’t leave a carbon footprint or whose carbon footprints are offset by the company’s overall efforts.

For the Apple Watch Series Nine, the aluminium used in the watch cases is 100 percent recycled. The company is also increasing the proportion of recycled metals including gold, tin, copper, tungsten and other materials.

And for the first time, there is 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery. Apple has also redesigned one of its most popular watch bands, the Sport Loop, to use more recycled materials. It is now made with 82 percent recycled yarn.

Starting this year, all Apple Watch manufacturing is powered by 100 percent clean electricity. For Series Nine, Apple will match 100 percent of your expected electricity use by investing in renewable energy projects around the world.

To cut emissions from transportation, Apple has redesigned Series 9 packaging to be 100 percent fibre based and more compact. It has a new, smaller shape that lets Apple ship up to 25 percent more watches per trip. And more of those trips will be made with low carbon shipping modes like Ocean freight, which emits one 20th of shipping by air.

Overall, these efforts reduced the carbon footprint on the Apple Watch by 78 percent. The rest is being offset by high quality credits from projects like forests and wetlands that actively remove carbon from the atmosphere. This last step brings the net carbon footprint of Apple Watch Series Nine down to zero, making it Apple’s first ever carbon neutral product.

The iPhone 15, overall, is one of the most durable smartphones that will the market next week. Apple is also making these phone incrementally more repair friendly, allowing people to use them for longer. And as we know, Apple’s software updates support its products for several years.

The iPhone’s enclosure uses 75 percent recycled aluminium for the first time, 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery and 100 percent recycled copper foil in the main logic board and MagSafe charger.

The entire aluminium substructure is made with 100 percent recycled aluminium, a first for the iPhone.

The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max now use 100 percent recycled gold in the USB‑C connector as well as the gold plating and tin soldering in multiple printed circuit boards. Both models meet Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency and are free of mercury, PVC, and beryllium.

One last point. For the first time, Apple is releasing the iPhones in India at the same time as in the US, starting this Friday, Sep. 15, 5:30 p.m. local time in India. Pricing starts at Rs 1,34,900 for the 128GB version of the iPhone 15 Pro, and Rs. 1,59,900 for the iPhone 15 Pro Max 256GB version.