Apple
1 HN recommender · recommended in 5 months, 2016–2020
1:04 · 5.5M views · Mar 21, 2016
A short Apple promotional video about Liam, a robot that disassembles old iPhones so their materials can be recovered. It frames the robot as part of Apple's product life cycle and recycling story.
Cited in repair and recycling threads as Apple's showcase of its iPhone disassembly robot, and sometimes mocked as marketing for what is really shredding.
6 comments from Hacker News
This article taught me about Liam this video "It is also investing in technology that makes it easier to recycle its products, such as Liam, a robot for disassembling iPhones." Very cool!
This is a super disingenuous article from the Verge. It's based on a highly biased "report" by the Repair Association trade group led by iFixit, whose business is impacted by this approach. They are now attempting to make an environmental argument. Pay close attention and you'll note that their premise, that user-repairable devices are better for the environment, is entirely unsupported . Where do you think most user-removed parts end up? In landfill. Whereas devices traded in to Apple can be recycled properly. Apple even has a custom-designed robot to disassemble iPhones to achieve maximum recyclability.[1] They also offer zero support for the claim that Apple's approach shortens the lifetime of devices. Apple offers a battery replacement program![2] You can extend your iPhone's life! And they recycle the old battery properly. iFixit just doesn't like that they can't sell you the kits to do it yourself. Apple's obvious motive, which this sensational article fails to dispute, is to make their devices smaller, watertight, and generally better. That is why they pack and glue the interiors with custom parts and seals. [1] this video [2] [LINK]
Its the other way around. Apple determined it was detrimental to their bottom line to repair and resell devices older than Iphone X. Devices with cracked screens, requiring battery/ charging port/ case/ button replacement, of fully working traded in [LINK] ones. What do you think happens to perfectly working iphone 8 plus worth ~$300 after its been traded in? Its not being resold [LINK] , it goes into a blender this video
Apple announced a robotics project last month called "Liam". this video It recovers "cobalt and lithium", "gold and copper", "silver and platinum". The number "2,204 pounds of gold" comes from page 17 of this PDF [LINK] which prominently displays Liam on the cover page.
> The throwaway economy Apple is thinking about this, see the Liam[0] robot that takes an iPhone down to constituent parts, and consider that the aluminum, steel, and glass are all quick turnaround raw materials. It's a start. [0]: this video