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Premature Apple iPhone 13 Pro Unboxing Showcases Eco-Friendly Packaging Changes
By Mikelle Leow, 21 Sep 2021
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Image via Apple
Last year, Apple drew some contempt when it eliminated power adapters and earphones from iPhone boxes, citing significant boons for the environment. Not only would the absent, oft-unused accessories help reduce carbon emission and alleviate a shortage of precious materials, but the slimmer packaging would also require less materials and ship more effectively on a global scale.
Reactions for the company’s packaging considerations for 2021 aren’t likely to be as strong, since the changes are subtler.
Thanks to the first-ever iPhone 13 Pro Max unboxing video, users have an early look at the glistening gold smartphone in the flesh, as well as slight changes to the box that ships it. The video was posted by YouTube channel SalimBaba Technical, and arrives days ahead of pre-ordered models reaching customers—plus, it comes even before “first look” videos and articles from reviewers and the press.
So, what gives? As Front Page Tech’s reputed tech leaker Jon Prosser notes, the media and the press would have received their sparkling new iPhone 13s and iPad minis last Friday. However, they’d only be allowed to post their reviews at 9am ET on Tuesday, September 21 for the iPhones and 9am ET on Wednesday, September 22 for the iPads. Going against Apple’s embargo, this iPhone 13 Pro Max video got out on Monday.
Now, back to the box: Apple has made the considerable decision to remove the outer plastic wrap altogether, explaining that the redesigned packaging saves “600 metric tons of plastic.” In place of the plastic, the company has now adopted an adhesive paper strip to keep the lid intact.
By doing so, Apple says it is moving closer to its vision to abandon plastic from all its packaging by 2025.
Within, you’ll find a USB-C to Lightning cable, your instruction manual, an Apple sticker. If you’re missing the charging brick or EarPods, they can be purchased individually at lower prices; the tech giant brought down their prices after removing them from the box in 2020.
Separately, 2021’s iPhones themselves have been adapted to be friendlier on the environment. The mid-tier iPhone 13, for example, has antenna lines constructed from upcycled plastic water bottles that have been treated to create a high-performance material—“an industry first,” Apple describes.
Meanwhile, the Pro models feature magnets from 100% recycled rare earth elements, as well as 100% recycled tin for the solder of the main logic board “and, for the first time… the solder of the battery management unit.” The plating of the core logic board and the wire in the front and rear cameras are also enforced with 100% recycled gold.
All this is to prepare for Apple’s intention to achieve a net-zero climate impact for all its processes—including “manufacturing supply chains and all product life cycles”—by 2030. “This means that every Apple device sold, from component manufacturing, assembly, transport, customer use, charging, all the way through recycling and material recovery, will be 100% carbon-neutral,” the company notes in a press release.
If you’re still holding on to your bulkier, less-eco-friendly iPhone boxes and don’t know what to do with them, here are some creative ways Apple users have been repurposing theirs.
Apple has redesigned the packing for the iPhone 13 series to eliminate the plastic wrap on the box. This change would avoid creating 600 metric tons of plastic waste. The new box will now have a tear-off strip, similar to Apple’s solution on other accessories pic.twitter.com/f5HMkxGdLf
— Apple Hub (@theapplehub) September 19, 2021
Media / press will receive iPhone 13 and iPad mini on Friday.
— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) September 15, 2021
Embargo for both (next week):
iPhone 13 - Tuesday, Sept 21
9:00am EST
iPad mini - Wednesday, Sept 22
9:00am EST
Be on the look out for videos on those days 👀
[via 9to5Mac, Front Page Tech and Apple, cover image via Apple]
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