Apple's sections about the environment in their announcements always makes me feel like I'm being gaslit as they mention anything but repair and supporting the consumer's right to reduce and re-use
Usually the only thing people can point to for Apple not being as green as they’d like is the repairability of the products. I’m willing to bet that whatever additional waste that is created by that is more than offset by having devices that last longer. Devices that require fewer repairs and have good software support allows either you, or whoever gets your old devices, to keep using the same device for longer. Every device has a lifecycle, making it as long as possible is the best way to avoid environmental impacts.
There's really very very little reason for all the Macs at least to not have M.2 slots besides letting Apple save pennies on SSD controller costs and convincing users to spring for overpriced upgrades. Even the iPad could probably use an M.2 SSD! The Surface Pros do!
I don't like it either and I'm not sure I agree, but that's probably their logic.
1. Make devices thinner and sleeker
2. Capture value from power users who would otherwise buy the base model and upgrade it themselves
But that's probably how they justify it as not environmentally harmful.
They don’t just trash it when you trade it, they resell as used.
You’re reaching acting like Apple is purposefully creating environmental damage when they do by far more than any other OEM on this planet to minimize their impact. They should be praised for doing anything at all in the face of no competition motivation, not judged for “you can do more!!! >:(“.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-04-18/apple-iph...
https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphon...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/10/07/apple-g...
I agree their devices last "long" but if they were upgradable they would last much longer.
Most iPads are vastly overpowered and last for a long time. If someone needs more power/storage, then one usually passes them to the next person which might use it for many more years.
My old iPad Air 2 from 2024 is still used.
> Even the iPad could probably use an M.2 SSD!
Most users don't need that. I'm using fixed storage in my Macs (and iPads) for years. I've attached additional storage to USB-C for many years without problems.
Which is why it's a shame they have poor repairability
That doesn't really make a case for the device's longevity :-)
If I could install an alternative third-party web browser -- though it would have to be one by someone who also understood the importance of supporting the old OS -- or if I could pitch in and help maintain the operating system myself, even using binary patches if required (look into who I am if you laugh here, and then stop laughing: we can do quite a lot without source code) I would be able to keep using it, but only Apple can save it now, and they have absolutely zero in incentive to do so.
iPhones are literally compared against objective perfection while all their competitors are worse on every single repair-lifecycle outcome. More iOS devices are used for longer than most android devices in the real world, and your n=1 cherry-picked example of your android tablet from 2008 isn’t really a useful or meaningful rebuttal.
I am just saying that Apple has gone out of their way to lock me out of being able to maintain this perfectly good, old iPad Pro. This is interesting as, frankly, the iPad hasn't really aged as a platform now in almost a decade, seemingly as almost no one is making software for it which needs new hardware (...likely in no small part due to Apple's restrictions on the otherwise very-general device, but the reasons don't matter much).
And yeah, sure: I happily agree that Android devices tend to be worse on many of these fronts... but, they also kind of don't matter, as effectively no one buys Android tablets and frankly no one wants to buy an Android tablet ;P which is a fact I don't see changing in the near future. Insisting that I should redirect my frustrations with Apple onto some no-name Android tablet maker is a big distraction from trying to make a difference in the world.
> Most iPads are vastly overpowered and last for a long time. If someone needs more power/storage, then one usually passes them to the next person which might use it for many more years.
like again, this is in the context of tablets. Can you show a current-production model of an expandable, upgradable alternative from a vendor like google or Samsung or similar?
If not, I think it’s pretty clearly just wishful thinking and double-standards. Apple doesn’t need to solve the whole right-to-repair problem by themselves to go above and beyond the very low bar set by the market alternative vendors. Android’s lifecycle is abysmal for repairability and waste in practice - they are even more disposable devices than the iPad, with shorter software lifecycles and shorter parts lifecycles and much lower volume/worse parts commonality.
The wishful ability to install a custom rom and some Amazon knockoff parts doesn’t actually make that a significant factor within the actual realized lifecycle of these devices.
But let's address your argument itself by applying it to two other companies to see if it holds up: would you consider a "sustainable/green" marketing campaign done by BP, the oil company to be disingenuous, even if they're better then Shell?
I would consider such marketing by them downright offensive and thats why the comparison to android devices seem pretty useless to me, honestly.
In comparison to pretty much all android devices, Apples are better from an environmental perspective. I mean most android devices had an EOL cycle of roughly 2 years until 2023 iirc... But that doesnt change the fact that apple is hardly doing anything either, which makes their marketing claims disingenuous (at least to me).
Apple is running a HaaS (Hardware as-a Service) and your subscription is somewhere between two to three years.
I’m currentLy using a 2016 iPad Pro (so 8 years running) and I use it for both Netflix and YouTube. It’s also still getting updates. Next year will be the first where it seems to have security updates only as well.
Edit: I also just booted up an even older iPhone 5 and both apps work
I would agree if you change "any" to "most". Here are some examples of "any" manufacturers that are willing to do more:
- For tablets and phones: https://www.shift.eco/en/impact/
- For laptops: https://frame.work/sustainability
- For phones: https://www.fairphone.com/en/story/
This dissonance in tone vs real motive is really painful to people who care about nuance and truth and moral good, because it means they muddy the waters of what is right and wrong and confuse us.
(yes this annoys me)
"Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, plans to be carbon neutral across the entire manufacturing supply chain and life cycle of every product."
And Apple's "Green" talk is just theater (well, just like everybody elses in tech, fashion, cars, etc).
Their whole business lies in making and selling more stuff, and getting people to replace them often with shiny new ones.
Apple comes out with 4 versions of the iPhone every year right? How about a fifth version that is 2mm thicker with the ability to upgrade. This is the wealthiest company on the planet in history and they are doing almost nothing.
> Personally I think it’s better to do some good for the environment than no good for the environment. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. They should absolutely let us repair every device, but I’m glad they make the environmental efforts they currently do as well.
"Some good for the environment" is 0.1% better in some marginal areas (packaging , recycled X material, bundled cables, the stickers in the box it announced it will stop this year, and so on) combined with 20% worse in other areas (tens of millions of devices) for a net 19.9% worse.
And, yes, 19.9% worse is technically better than 20% worse.
Like "technically" removing a bucket of water from a flooding river is less flood than leaving it all.
Practically it's worse. It does nothing to stop the catastrophe, and even worse, this greenwashing is giving false assurances, which help maintain and compound the 19.9% worse year over year (as opposed to people demanding they do something real).
And of the course the hypocrisy, encouraged this way, doesn't stop with Apple.
wooooosh
Carbon offsets are about as credible as the oil industry giants saying they don't really pollute very much at all. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_offsets_and_credits
* https://twitter.com/nobi/status/1787888454849966295
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntjkwIXWtrc
They crushed paint, a piano, toys, and much much more.
All in the name of a convenient marketing ploy around "thinness." Seems anti-reuse to me.