Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries by 2025

Re:Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries b... by layer8 on Thursday April 13, 2023 @09:48AM (#35555410)

“Throwaway” may be hyperbole, but the average lifespan in terms of iOS versions for an iPhone is about 5-6 years. (On the low side, someone who bought an iPhone SE in September 2018 only got four years.) The issue is that the hardware often works fine for 10 years or more. Nowadays it’s usually software that makes devices obsolete, without any real necessity.

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Re:Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries b... by naravara on Thursday April 13, 2023 @11:36AM (#35557079)

> The issue is that the hardware often works fine for 10 years or more.

I don't know about that. It technically still works, but you will feel it being slow because developers keep updating their apps to take advantage of new technologies and features. Even browsing the web keeps getting worse because web developers seem to cruft up their websites as much as the hardware can bear.

I really think around 5 years is the limit to be able to use your phone as an general purpose, internet connected device. If you want to repurpose it into an iPod Touch or Smarthome remote controller or something after that that's still doable even if you're using a deprecated version of iOS.

The story with iPads is a little different. If all it is for most people is a streaming service and article-reading machine those can last 10 years or more and the OS probably should have a longer life and a higher priority on making the batteries easily serviceable. I'd actually love a stripped-down, barebones version of iPad OS that makes it dumber but more secure. Sort of like booting in safe mode, for when people want to repurpose old devices.

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Re:Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries b... by layer8 on Thursday April 13, 2023 @11:40AM (#35557139)

This is part of the criticism, though: There is no inherent need for the software to become slower (and less efficient). Throwing the hands up on that front just means we’ll eternally keep churning, in the name of “progress”.

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Re:Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries b... by Gigachad on Thursday April 13, 2023 @04:45PM (#35561819)

I think you are forgetting what phone apps 10 years ago looked like and the features they had. It’s not useless bloat that’s slowing them down, it’s the addition of actual features people like and take advantage of.

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Re:Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries b... by naravara on Friday April 14, 2023 @01:02PM (#35571836)

Even aside from the good point Gigachad also made, it's not really under Apple's control to make web and app developers be more efficient. People just develop and scope for the power envelope the hardware can provide. It would be great if they optimized for cutting bloat, but they just don't and there's nobody with the ability to dictate that they do.

App review processes are already opaque and inconsistent enough with fairly straightforward rules around what is and isn't around. I don't think devs are going to like it if Apple starts getting opinionated about how you're doing indexing on your SQL.

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Re:Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries b... by adesanmi on Thursday April 13, 2023 @12:55PM (#35558432)

I believe older iPhones still get security updates for a very long time. Much longer than 5 years, making them one of the longest-term supported devices on the market currently.

The 5s got one in 2023.

https://www.makeuseof.com/apple-security-updates-for-10-year...

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Re:Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries b... by howinteresting on Thursday April 13, 2023 @06:52PM (#35563247)

Older Android phones also get security updates for a long time via Google Play Services!

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Re:Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries b... by scarface74 on Thursday April 13, 2023 @10:11PM (#35564699)

And what happens if the security vulnerability is found in the operating system itself and not Google Play Services.

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Re:Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries b... by howinteresting on Friday April 14, 2023 @08:07PM (#35576372)

You're in the same situation you are with iOS where old versions don't get all security vulnerabilities patched.

Android is a more modular system than iOS. Even if the core OS is out of date, many components are updated via Google Play.

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Re:Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries b... by scarface74 on Thursday April 13, 2023 @10:12PM (#35564708)

A 10 year old iPhone would be the 5s. It has gotten a security update within the last year.

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