Apple Wants To Be Self-Sufficient
January 12, 2020Apple is attempting to wean itself off of it’s dependence on others for rare earth minerals. According to an article by Reuters, Cupertino plans on becoming a “closed-loop” manufacturer.
This entails reclaiming the required minerals from recycled iPhones instead of relying on third-party suppliers. This may seem like an insurmountable task to some, but not for Apple. It’s key to achieving this goal is the use of Daisy, a robot that disassembles iPhones.
The machine is housed in a warehouse in Austin, Texas. Here, it works tirelessly to disassemble iPhones to thier bare components and modules. It can take apart 200 phones in an hour, an astonishing feat by any standard.
These parts are then sent off, where the much needed minerals are extracted, refined and then reused for the production of new iPhones. According to the same Reuters article, Apple is already using recycled tin, cobalt and other minerals in its products.
Critics believe that this is a foolhardy attempt by the company to become self sufficient. This is true, to an extent. The complexity of this system won’t be able to yield enough reclaimed minerals to satisfy the growing demand for more sophisticated iPhones.
But, Apple may have been forced into this position due to the tit-for-tat trade war between the United States and China. The ever increasing tariffs by each side, could at some point, reach a tipping point where it stifles the global supply of rare earth minerals.
Reclaiming such minerals from recycled parts could help Cupertino temper the fallout of any type of supply disruption caused by either side. It just makes good business sense, an invaluable insurance policy for the iPhone.
Source: Reuters
