Nothing About the New iPhone Is ‘Good for the Planet’

Apple’s iPhone 11 Pro may be durable, but it’s not green

Apple unveiled its latest iPhones at a keynote event on Tuesday that was, as usual, filled with messaging about the environment. Rest easy if you want to upgrade: Apple’s official trade-in program is “great for you, great for the planet.”

That message was scrawled in gigantic letters above Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of retail and people, who added, “because we reuse and recycle, it’s great for the planet.” But the production of new iPhones is inherently wasteful and destructive, warn advocates who have long spoken out against unsustainable practices in the tech industry. Consumers who buy new phones should know that there’s no green way to do it.

“I think it’s great that they’re continuing to innovate, but you have to wonder whether it’s in the planet’s best interest, or yours as a consumer, to buy into the flow of new models,” says Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of the Repair Association, which advocates for right-to-repair legislation across the United States.

Repairability goes hand in hand with longevity. The various components of a smartphone are difficult to reclaim, and so new materials are invariably extracted from the planet for new product rollouts…