He also made a case of Apple allowing users to trade in their phone. That is exchange the old one for a new one. “And so we then resell that phone if it’s still working,” he justified by implying that older iPhones end up being used by a different set of people. Cook also said that the ones that aren’t working, don’t end up being a complete waste. “If it’s [the iPhone] not working, we’ve got ways of disassembling it and taking the materials to make a new iPhone out of.”
Environment and the iPhone
The question was asked as there’s a lot of clamour over companies being environmentally conscious. Apple is one of the companies that is taking the lead in making environmentally conscious. Perhaps that’s why the question of having a new iPhone every year doesn’t make sense environmentally. Cook, however, does believe that Apple is doing what it can to get the best out of older iPhones.
Apple has set a target to be completely carbon neutral by 2030 and it took a significant step in that direction. At the 2023 iPhone event, new Apple Watch models were launched, which are the first 100% completely carbon neutral products. Cook said that the goal is that by 2030 the iPhone is also completely carbon neutral.