Earlier this week, Apple has announced that it will be making a major shift in the battery technology that it employs for its various products. The company will be moving to utilizing only on recyclable cobalt batteries within the next two years. So here are all the details.

The Cupertino based giant has stated that it will be shifting to exclusively use recycled cobalt by the year 2025. This move from the brand is a part of its plans to make all of its consumer electronic products carbon neutral by the end of this decade. Furthermore, Apple announced that the magnets in its various types of devices will use recycled rare earth elements while its proprietary printed circuit board design will be based on recycled tin soldering and gold plating.

For those unaware, the iPhone maker is working on becoming truly carbon neutral, including its entire supply chain and the life cycle of its every product by the year 2030. The company announced earlier this week that it has doubled its investment towards projects that brand’s overall carbon footprint. Although, this news also raises concerns considering the fact that tech giant’s in the past have been accused of being involved in deaths of children in the Democratic Republic of Congo after being forced to mine cobalt.

This material is a crucial component in the batteries that power the consumer electronic products. Back in 2022, around a quarter of all cobalt used in Apple branded products was recycled. This marked a rise of 13 percent year on year over 2021. Now, it is sourcing over two thirds of its aluminum, around three quarter of all rare earth materials, and about 95 percent of all tungsten materials in its products from recycled materials. So, cobalt based batteries is next in line to go fully based on recycled materials.

RELATED:

• What are solid-state buttons? Will it feature on iPhone 15 series?
• Apple is reportedly producing 7% of all of its iPhones in India
• Apple rolls out iOS 15.7.5 update to Older iPhones & iPads
• iPhone 15 Pro models may not feature solid-state buttons
• Best Multiport Travel Chargers 2023

(Via)

The post Apple will shift to using only recyclable cobalt batteries by 2025 appeared first on Gizmochina.

With Microsoft Windows 11 going live, various OEMs are rushing to launch their own PC offerings that support the latest version of the operating system. One of these brands include Acer, with its Aspire Vero.

While Windows 11 is undoubtedly one of its key features, the build quality and materials used is still a notable aspect. The laptop from the Taiwanese PC maker is the first to be focused around sustainability. The new notebook is built used post consumer recycled (PCR) plastics both for the chassis and keyboard caps. Furthermore, 30 percent of the entire chassis is made using the PCR plastics while the keyboard caps are use around 50 percent of PCR.

The brand is also using 100 percent recyclable packaging for the laptop, with 100 percent recyclable plastic also being used for the laptop sleeve and keyboard protection as well along with 85 percent recycled materials used for even the carton box. Under the hood, the new Aspire Vero features up to Intel’s 11th Gen Core i7 processor with Iris Xe graphics paired with 512GB of SSD storage. On the front, the display is a 15.6 inch FHD panel, while the laptop supports WiFi 6, USB Type C, two USB Type A ports, and an HDMI 2.0 port.

The laptop will be available for purchase starting from tomorrow with a price tag of 899.99 US Dollars for the i7 model, which is paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. The Core i5 variant is set to launch later this month and will arrive with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage and will cost 699.99 US Dollars.

RELATED:

• Acer gears up for September launch of its upcoming Smart TVs in India
• Acer Nitro XV252Q F gaming monitor arrives with 390Hz refresh rate support
• Acer announces four new Chromebooks and none of them is a tablet

The post Acer launches Aspire Vero with Windows 11, built using recycled plastic appeared first on Gizmochina.

Back in 2015, Samsung launched its recycling program to bring in older smartphone models in an attempt to be environmentally friendly. However, a recent infographic shared by the company revealed that this program only managed to bring in just 0.0019% of older devices.

According to the blog post (Via Neowin) which celebrated Earth Day, the South Korean tech giant revealed that the company’s recycling program as of 2019 only recorded modest results. While the initiative from the brand is good for the environment, but the figure reveals that the company is still lagging in this regard. Since 2015, the campaign from Samsung only took in 38,000 handsets as of May 2019. This implies that the number of devices that came in represented just 0.0019% over the total 2 billion Galaxy devices that are in circulation as of February 2019.

Notably, finding where the devices that are currently in their product lifecycle are hard to find, especially when these range in the billions. Furthermore, a lot of these Galaxy devices are likely still being used by the customer who purchased the device while a few of them would’ve found their way to second hand market. Notably, a fraction of these smartphones might have been repurposed as a part of the Galaxy Upcycling program.

For those unaware, any and every phone that is built by using rare earth metals that are limited in quantity. These are bad for the planet to mind and also involve miners that work in bad working conditions. Thus, bringing in older devices would enable companies to recycle these materials without having to mine them again.

RELATED:

• Galaxy A22 5G with Dimensity 700 spotted at Geekbench, Likely to debut as the cheapest 5G phone by Samsung
• Tipster reveals Xiaomi, Samsung, Oppo & others will launch UD camera flagships this year
• Samsung starts offering Pick-up and Drop service for its devices in India

The post Samsung recycling program brought back just 0.0019% of old phones since 2015 appeared first on Gizmochina.

In recent times, Apple has placed an increasing focus on the recyclability of its products. Now, the company is suing a company that was hired to scrap its devices after it allegedly resold about 100,000 iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.

The Cupertino based giant has plans on bringing its entire recycling process in house, however, it continues to rely on other parties for now. Geep Canada is the recycler the company had hired to scrap its products that Apple has now filed a lawsuit against. According to an AppleInsider report, Geep has not denied these allegations, although, it has filed a counter suit against the iPhone maker, citing that the 100,000 devices were resold by three “rogue” employees without their knowledge.

Apple responded to the matter by pointing out that the three employees in question are in fact senior management in the firm. While the case only got publicly revealed recently, the lawsuit was originally filed back in January 2020. The company first discovered these thefts at the end of 2017 or the start of 2018. After this, it stopped its partnership with Geep altogether. In September 2019, Geep Canada merged with another firm to form Quantum Lifecycle Partners.

Editor’s Pick: OnePlus 8T dimension and camera sensors tipped ahead of October 14 launch

The lawsuit states that Apple shipped 531,966 iPhones to Geep Canada for recycling between January 2015 and December 2017, alongside 5,673 iPads, and 19,277 Apple Watches. However, during an audit, it was reportedly discovered that some of its devices were being stored away from those of other firms. These devices were stored away from security cameras’ vision and had the serial number of devices that were shipped to Geep. Approximately 18 percent of 103,845 of these devices were found to be active on carrier networks.

The company is now seeking full recovery of profits made from the resale of these devices, along with $31 million Canadian (roughly $22.7 million US). Quantum Lifecycle Partners stated that “the lawsuit is between Geep and Apple and we have no knowledge regarding the details.” The filing also stated that, “At least 11,766 pounds of Apple devices left Geep’s premises without being destroyed – a fact that GEEP itself confirmed.” At the moment, Geep is currently looking for the three employees to pay damages and costs.

UP NEXT: WhatsApp Beta for Android v2.20.201.10 adds Always Mute, new Storage Usage UI & Media Guidelines

The post Apple sues Geep Canada for reselling 100,000 devices that were given for recycling appeared first on Gizmochina.

Samsung Electronics, a known brand in the tech industry, is developing a reusable packaging box. This is likely a move to reduce the waste generated from packaging during the sale of electronics products.

The South Korean tech giant applied for a patent under the title ‘reusable packaging box,’ which features a packaging that combines an inner cushion and an outer protective layer. Generally, a large electronic product like a refrigerator ais shipped in a large cardboard box with styrofoam on the inside to act as shock absorbing material. However, once the product is installed, it is unlikely that it is kept for future use and is typically disposed of immediately.

This creates additional waste and has been known to pollute the environment in the long run, especially styrofoam since its a non-biodegradable material. To tackle this, the new reusable packaging box has been designed with a focus of being used multiple times rather than simply disposing it after one use. Furthermore, the integrated cushion material and outer cover simplify the packaging process while also reduces the number of waste products.

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi Youpin website Crashes temporarily after buyers flood to purchase Medical Masks online

Samsung has been influenced by many factors, one of which includes an upcoming Government regulation on waste in its home country, South Korea. Environmental protection and reduction in pollution caused by large corporations, especially within the electronics industry, has been a big debate for decades. If implemented, the new reusable packaging box could reduce disposable products and reduce its impact on the environment.

Notably, the development of the reusable packaging box from Samsung will have a great impact in terms of cost and environmental protection. This is due to packaging waste being a major polluting concern and the company has a big role since it is one of the biggest sellers in the industry. The new method of packaging is also a part of Samsung’s cyclical economy based around sourcing its supplies for its products from used and recyclable materials to fully optimize and reduce wastage during assembly.

UP NEXT: OnePlus announces Concept One World Tour; coming to three cities in India

(Via)

The post Samsung is making a Reusable Packaging Box to reduce pollution during product distribution appeared first on Gizmochina.

Mobike – world’s largest bicycle sharing company which lend its services to more than 19 countries including China, Japan, Italy, India, United Kingdom, and many others. In 2018, Mobike cooperated with YiCai and YUUE to recycle ever increasing bicycle waste.

Under its full recycling initiative, Mobike recycled the old bikes into useful furniture such as chairs, coffee tables, candlesticks, vertical lights, etc. Mobike follows “3R” principle of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle to benefit from tons of bicycle waste. Mobike follows the waste management principle throughout its R&D, production, operation, maintenance, and recycling. The company regenerates 80% of critical components from the old recycled parts of bikes molded out of magnesium-aluminum alloy.

According to a new report, various daily use necessities are crafted using these old components. Mobike and YUUE product design studio in Berlin, Germany developed a set of new accessories. Weng Xinyu of YUUE design studio designed a total of five new types of furniture. The aim behind to create these products is to “draw public attention to the industry’s flaw and offer an approach on how to generate a surplus by reusing the individual bike parts for furniture production and therefore making it worthwhile for the companies retrieving the bicycles that were towed away.”

The design aesthetics are drawn from its original parts. The useful yet beautiful products are easily designed with basic tools which are available in China quite easily.

Last year, Mobike also partnered with YiCai aiming to reuse or recycle 100,000 old bicycles. The company wants to build new components for smart locks, solar panels, and wheel in compliance with government rules.

• Read More: Going green: Samsung products to feature packaging made from sustainable materials

These bike-sharing services majorly evolved to tackle alarming pollution levels and instigate healthy living standards among citizens. Various initiatives across different countries led to a sudden boom in the bicycle sharing companies after 2015.

The post Mobike and YUUE recycled old bicycles into useful furniture appeared first on Gizmochina.