Critics claim Apple could cause e-waste disaster
Wednesday, January 27, 2016 - 12:44:26
Rumours about Apple’s alleged plans to remove the traditional headphone socket from its next iPhone have intensified in recent weeks, leading to a lot of criticism of the company before it has even officially announced the product in question.
Industry sources close to the matter believe that Apple is thinking about ditching the 3.5mm audio jack in order to slim down the chassis of the iPhone 7, a move which will immediately render millions of headphones and other audio inputs entirely obsolete.
This is an annoyance for people who have invested money in headphones for their smartphone, or even used the free sets included with almost every new mobile device. But environmental campaigners are also warning that Apple could be heading straight for an e-waste calamity if it pursues this course.
There is so much consternation surrounding this issue that concerned iPhone fans have even created an online petition to alert Apple to their concerns, according to the Guardian. And with over a quarter of a million signatures already accrued, it seems likely that the manufacturer will at least be aware of the growing backlash, even if it does not do anything about it.
People will have to recycle their old headphones, or else sell their iPhones and upgrade to a rival Android or Windows Phone device, rather than selecting an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus handset, when this range is launched in September.
And since Apple has had no qualms about rendering old add-ons obsolete in the past, moving to the Lightning connector and eliminating disc drives from its laptops, there is every chance that it will go ahead with the rumoured intentions to do away with the headphone socket, no matter what fans think about this decision.
This will put the responsibility for a mountain of e-waste into the hands of users, so alerting people to the availability of mobile phone recycling and electronics recycling services is vital.
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