Apple Tackles E-Waste With iPhone Recycling Robot 'Liam'

[gsmornot]

I wanna point out that the iPhone in the video isn't an existing iPhone. It has the 6(S) design with one big difference: no protruding camera. Which brings up the question: what was going on behind Apple's walls when making this video? It's their video showing off a product with their logo on it that does not exist.

I feel its just the camera angle carefully chosen not to emphasize the camera bezel. If you hold your phone at a similar angle with back/right lighting you can make your's disappear as well. The internals in the video are 6 and not 6S. I hoped at the start of the video yesterday they were showing the SE early but again, Apple is very careful not to make a mistake like showing a product at the wrong time.

 

[RightMACatU]

Liam on the 16GB iPhone SE: "I'm sorry, Tim. I'm afraid I can't do that."

 

[DUCKofD3ATH]

I wonder what the meaning behind the name "Liam" is.

Likes Imagining Annihilating Mankind

 

[Galley]

It makes you wonder: if they can disassemble an iPhone with a robot, you'd think they could assemble them with one.

 

[vertsix]

I wonder what they're using for Android phones that are being brought to recycling at the Apple Store.






Probably a trash can.

Or a grinder.

And they laugh in an evil way while they're doing it.

 

[iBug2]

This was the highlight of the event for me btw.

 

[bent christian]

You can't make non-up-gradable, disposable electronic devices and expect to be taken serious here, Apple.

Sorry.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

Probably because recycling is good for the environment and some people think that protecting the environment should be controversial.

Can I play too? Some people treat environmentalism as a religion. Woohoo, we just earned the PRSI placement! :-D

*the statements in the post may not reflect the views of the poster or management.

 

[dannyyankou]

All this technology and we have a camera bump on the new iPads. I'm not one to say "SJ would never do this", etc. But I do know with 100% certainty that if SJ was still around there would be no bump on the iPad, or the iPhone 6. And truthfully the bump doesn't bother me at all. But it does show me that Apple is forgetting the SJ philosophy that made Apple what it is today. And that's a scary thought to me. That little bump speaks volumes.

He allowed this-

 

[DUCKofD3ATH]

It makes you wonder: if they can disassemble an iPhone with a robot, you'd think they could assemble them with one.

It's always easier to break than to make.

 

[simonmet]

He allowed this-

I remember reading that they wanted the apple logo to appear the right way up to the user when the lid was closed, then when they started getting a lot of TV product placement (like Sex and the City) they changed their mind and flipped it around.

So Steve originally wanted what's best for the user not everybody else.

 

[dannyyankou]

I remember reading that they wanted the apple logo to appear the right way up to the user when the lid was closed, then when they started getting a lot of TV product placement (like Sex and the City) they changed their mind and flipped it around.

So Steve originally wanted what's best for the user not everybody else.

But he changed his mind. Meaning he admitted he was wrong.

 

[timborama]

I wanna point out that the iPhone in the video isn't an existing iPhone. It has the 6(S) design with one big difference: no protruding camera. Which brings up the question: what was going on behind Apple's walls when making this video? It's their video showing off a product with their logo on it that does not exist.

Wake up, it's all CG.

 

[Glassed Silver]

If Apple was serious about this they wouldn't buy back those phones at such uncompetitive prices.

I see why they wouldn't want to do it, but all I'm saying is that it's nice to see these efforts for sure, but one shouldn't be blinded by this to think that this is the ultimate solution to old phones hanging around.

Of course you don't toss a multi-hundred dollar device in the bin, even for parts these things go extremely well on eBay.
iPhones typically rarely go to waste, what really pushes iOS devices out of the game is lagging iOS versions that you can't even properly avoid. (one reset of the device and you're forced to "upgrade" to the latest version available for your device.)

Glassed Silver:mac

 

[kdarling]

In the mean time, show me the comparable process from any other smartphone manufacturer.

Every major smartphone manufacturer has a recycling program, where you can either take the phone to a designated location (e.g. Best Buy) or go on the web to print out a free mailing label. The phones go to recyclers which have (at least in the US and EU) been certified for greenness. They may or may not use automated methods.

The real problem is that very few smartphone users (of any type) know about these programs or take advantage of them.

For instance, Americans alone dispose of around a half million phones a DAY, of which fewer than 10% are recycled. And of those few that are recycled, eight out of ten are sent on container ships overseas to centers in places like China and India.

 

[2457282]

I wonder what the meaning behind the name "Liam" is.

Labor-saving
Iphone
Attack
Machine

 

[Bigsk8r]

This is a solid development for the environment. I don't care what Greenpeace says. Even with some downtime for maintenance, black outs, holidays, etc..., one line can breakdown 2.5 Million phones per year.

Just having one in each time zone in the US would allow for recycling of 10 Million phones a year. That's a big step in the right direction.

 

[Mac2me]

I wonder what the meaning behind the name "Liam" is.

I posted a thread about Liam yesterday under the Apple Inc and Tech Industry forum area before this thread was made. There's a link to a Mashable article that explains the origin of the name and more about the 3-year secret project.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apples-liam-the-disassembler.1962581/

 

[Denmac1]

And then, they have to build another unit to recycle LIAM, and then.......

 

[currocj]

No, Apple needs to do what industrial designers have been calling for decades now, make products that have EVERY step of their lifecycle factored in.

That's from resource extraction to, exactly what they're doing, disassembly and reuse. The concept is called cradle-to-cradle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle-to-cradle_design

What Apple is doing is clearly in hot pursuit of this design chain. Pay very close attention when they say they are working on ways to deconstruct there silicon to reuse the elements in them for new silicon. That's the final step that Apple needs to take.

A book on the subject, where the book itself is designed in the cradle-to-cradle philosophy: http://www.amazon.com/Cradle-Remaking-Way-Make-Things/dp/0865475873

Liam the 43rd will be a vending machine that takes my iPhone 26, disassembles it, melts it, and then reassembles it into an iPhone 27. Now THAT'S cradle-to-cradle!

 

[thekev]

Why is this in PRSI? It's just a recycling robot, what is controversial about that?

Threads sometimes go off on a political tangent, at which point the mods move it. This way it's less work and the thread won't appear to be missing if it goes that direction.

 

[Keane16]

All this technology and we have a camera bump on the new iPads. I'm not one to say "SJ would never do this", etc. But I do know with 100% certainty that if SJ was still around there would be no bump on the iPad, or the iPhone 6. And truthfully the bump doesn't bother me at all. But it does show me that Apple is forgetting the SJ philosophy that made Apple what it is today. And that's a scary thought to me. That little bump speaks volumes.

Remember the original MacBook Air and that awful flap for ports? It was ugly and hard to use with certain accessories.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Air-Mid-2009-MC234-A.21056.0.html

Steve Jobs gave that the OK. So to say he wouldn't have gone with the protruding camera is an unknown. The man made mistakes and bad choices like everyone else.


Regarding the protruding camera - Ive said they went with what they thought was best:

I asked Ive about the slightly protruding camera lens that prevents the iPhone 6 from resting comfortably on its back. Ive referred to that decision—without which the phone would be slightly thicker—as “a really very pragmatic optimization.” One had to guess at the drama behind the phrase. “And, yeah . . .” he said.

I can only imagine the debate they had. Thicker means harder to handle one handed. For me at iPhone SE thickness my ideal screen size for one handed use would be about 4.1" or 4.2". At iPhone 6 thickness I would probably want a phone with a slightly bigger screen thanks to the slimmer body making it easier to grip. Also looking at it pragmatically - a few reports I've seen show the majority of iPhone suers have a case - so it really is a non issue for most. I however go caseless and I'm still glad they went with thin and protruding rather than thicker and flush, it made the larger screens of the 6 easier to get used to.


With the iPad - the protruding camera worried me at first as I want to get one for work use. Pencil + OneNote = perfect paper notebook replacement. iPhones I rarely use flat on a surface. iPads I do. Any wobble would be terrible. Thankfully reports show it doesn't wobble - https://mobile.twitter.com/panzer/status/712361542818209792. I personally don't ever use the camera on the iPad so a flush one with lesser capabilities would have been what I wanted for selfish reasons. But apparently the cameras on the iPad do get used quite a lot, so maybe they did the right thing: https://www.flickr.com/cameras/apple/.

 

[Tech198]

I wonder what the meaning behind the name "Liam" is.

My first thought was Liam Neeson.

My second thought was, where are the Pentalobe screws.