A Leap Into the World of Sustainable Smartphones

The COVID-19 pandemic and the overtake of digital transformation on all frontiers hazardously affected the supply chain of many industries, and the smartphone industry is one of them. With the speedy technological development, everyone has built this craving to have the thinnest, fastest, latest, and smartest phones. But what do we really know about the effect of our smartphones on the environment, and how can eco-friendly and sustainable smartphones help, if not diminish, then minimize the detrimental environmental consequences surfacing from our smartphones?

The amount of electric waste (e-waste) is ascending. One factor can be attributed to the high intensity of smartphone manufacturing from companies that don’t design their products to be made repairable and durable. The rate of e-waste is rising and is expected to hit a high margin by 2030, estimated to produce around 70 billion tons of e-waste on a yearly basis.

For that reason, many smart devices companies are altering their business models and strategies to be more directed toward sustainable and eco-friendly solutions. Any typical phone produces around 55 kg of waste throughout its manufacturing process.

Here we will shine a light on some of the leading eco-friendly and sustainable smartphones to help direct you towards making more eco-conscious decisions, making your presence in making some change in the fight against climate change.

1.         iPhones 13 Pro

In its latest release for its last iPhone series, Apple has shown a conscious move to direct its product products towards an eco-friendlier approach. Implementing more green initiatives in products, the iPhone parent unveiled its most sustainable iPhone so far.

iPhone 13 Pro is deemed the greenest iPhone till today, made from 99 percent recycled tungsten – the hard steel-grey metal of the transition series, made to make electric light filaments. It is also 98 percent rare earth elements and the first product from the companies to use 100 percent certified recycled gold in the plating.

According to the software developer, it used 54 percent less energy. This means it demands more minor requirements for battery charger systems. Apple is also expected to make a drastic shift toward more sustainable products by 2030.

2.         Fairphone 4

With its history of producing eco-friendly smartphones, Fairphone could be the most mindful company when delivering sustainable smartphones. But while it could be in the lead in taking the initiative, Fairphone’s smartphones lines are usually met with intense rivalry from its competitors’ products.

One of its sustainable smartphones seems to be shifting the tides for the company, though. The Fairphone 4 is designed in a way that needs fewer demands than its competitors, such as Samsung, Google, and OnePlus.

Fairphone 4’s back is fully created from 100 percent recycled plastics, adding a soft feeling to the touch, with more firmness to the grip with no fear of the phone sliding off your hand.

3.         Samsung Galaxy S22 Series

 Hailed as Samsung’s most eco-friendly device to date, the Galaxy S22 Series has an AMOLED 2X, reducing the amount of harmful blue light emitted from the screen, and obtains around 20 percent recycled ocean-bound plastic made from fishnets.

Not only are its specs friendly to the consumer, but its packaging is also eco-conscious, as the South Korean conglomerate revealed that it used 100 percent recycled paper in the phone’s packaging production.

In its latest endeavors to leave a mark in fighting climate change within its own borders and marching on the path of sustainable decisions, its Galaxy for the Planet initiative aims at acting more sustainably in its mobile generations’ production. 

In August 2021, the tech brand unveiled its eco-conscious initiative, presented as a sustainability platform with a set of targets to help decrease carbon emissions and environmental footprints. The initiative is structured in a way to ensure that the tech conglomerate will reach the absolute sustainability of its Galaxy products by 2025.

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