When we talk about the importance of the environment and protecting it from pollution, everyone focuses on factories and car companies, and they release polluting materials.
However, many do not know about electronic devices and the pollutants produced when their used boxes are manufactured. The boxes containing electronic devices emit various polluting gases when they are manufactured and recycled; As a result, technology companies are racing to contribute to reducing this phenomenon under the name of “preserving the environment”; But we do not know if it is really for the sake of preserving the environment and reducing pollution, or for purely profit interests.
Where did the trend of caring for the environment start?
Some consider that Apple is the first to draw attention to the environment, but in fact, Samsung is the one who started that, when it released all its devices in 2013 in boxes made entirely of environmentally friendly and recyclable materials, as the company was proud at this time that it was the first to care 100% by making their brand eco-friendly; However, this situation did not last, and she returned to using the regular funds again without explaining the reason.
In 2020, all companies began to turn their attention to the environment after Apple announced this, as we now find all phone boxes come in a smaller size and without the presence of the charger or any other accessories inside, under the pretext of reducing the consumption of plastic materials and caring for the environment, which is what Apple started when it was launched For iPhone 12, which sparked a state of controversy and ridicule.
Under the name of “caring for the environment”, the user remains the victim
Although companies claim to care about the environment and the interests of users; But the main objective of this policy is its financial gain. Most of these companies, when recycling old devices, benefit from recovered materials in recycling the devices, thus achieving two goals of preserving the environment and significant financial benefits.
Apple is the first catalyst for other companies. When the iPhone 12 was launched and the chargers removed from the device box accessories, companies started to mock them at first and then followed their approach in detail; Perhaps the reason for this is when you see Apple earn more in exchange for deleting what the user needs, such as the charger, and its sales are not affected by these negative decisions, so what is the objection to following it? We must not forget that these companies care about financial gain, of course.
Thus, the phone boxes were changed to others made of recyclable cardboard, and not only did the package change in the name of preserving the environment, so companies began removing chargers and headphones from the device’s accessories as well, as Samsung is taking similar steps, as well as Xiaomi confirmed that it will not provide the charger With new phones, almost all smartphone manufacturers.
Are companies really following these steps to preserve the environment?
When looking at companies rushing and staying in competition with each other in order to prevent placing the charger or headphones inside the case in order to take care of the environment according to our perspective of things, the question present to us is whether their interest or the user’s interest is the main motive?
When companies sell smartphones, the first focus is not only on the number of devices sold, but the profit they make from each product (i.e. the goal is the lowest cost without the accessories with the largest profit).
And although Apple has justified its shocking decision to delete the charger from all iPhone devices – the decision was applied to all devices and not only to the iPhone 12, even the old ones – that we all already have chargers, it has ignored two important points, the first is that its new device comes with speeds Charging is higher than its predecessor, and therefore you will have to buy the new charger to charge at full speed, and the second is that the charging cable that comes with the device comes with two Type C and Lighting Port ports, a port that previous Apple chargers do not support!
This phenomenon received objection and the claim that it is aimed at profit, but despite the mockery of all decisions in the beginning, until with time, as usual, companies begin to imitate each other as we explained earlier.
Apple sacrifices user experience for the environment
As we mentioned earlier, Apple has already got rid of the charger that we used to have with phone accessories, in addition to the headphones as well in order to preserve the environment and reduce costs, and we can only think that this decision comes against the interest of the user; However, in the future all companies will be prohibited from adding a charger with their devices provided that the charging ports for Type C are standardized, according to the request made by the European Union.
Not only did Apple remove these accessories, but also dispensed with the plastic case in the iPhone 13
Before the release of the iPhone 13, Apple announced its plans to stop using the plastic wrap for the phone package as it seeks to reduce the use of plastic, as it reduces plastic consumption by approximately 600 tons.
As follows in the shape of the iPhone 13 box, a paper tag along the box is attached with an adhesive to open the box, to be an alternative to the plastic cover, and Apple plans to dispense with plastic boxes completely by 2025.
Microsoft shares green with a mouse made from waste plastic
At Microsoft’s annual conference for Surface devices, the software giant revealed a wireless mouse made from recycled ocean and waterways waste plastic, as the mouse’s outer shell is made of 20% plastic, and the mouse is placed inside an eco-friendly wooden box for recycling, and at a price $25.