Why the iPhone Won’t Be Fairphone – Head of Apple Devices on “Carbon Zero” | News

As Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus is responsible for the entire iPad, AirPods, and iPhone 12 product line. He has worked at Apple since 2001, and was instrumental in the transition to in-house M chips. in conversation He explains to t3n how far Apple must go to make production climate neutral by 2030. The mantra within his team is that every product update emits less CO2 than the last. However, you should not make any compromises with regard to security, quality, reliability, and the “Apple Experience”.

Durability is the top priority
You can clearly see what he means by that if you look at the depreciation of different smartphones. According to the head of hardware, iPhones are still worth 80 percent more on average than their Android counterparts after three years. This is due to the solid construction at least. As an example, it offers “Ceramic Shield”, currently the strongest screen protection. In addition, the Californian company has gone to great lengths to make the iPhone and Apple Watch waterproof to IP68. Devices from Cupertino will impress with their long service life, and if damage nevertheless occurs, the Apple manager points to the self-repair program now established on a large scale.

Devices are getting easier and easier to repair
The iPhone 14 has also moved away from the design known as the “bucket architecture” and now uses the “mid-body architecture”. This will be accompanied by a clear advantage in terms of replacing the rear glass. Costs and complexity are reduced. While the iPhone was still difficult to repair until recently, the repair experts at iFixit dubbed the latest model the most repairable iPhone since the iPhone 7. The center bezel allows the screen to be changed and back independently. The iPhone range is now more economical with adhesive. Batteries can be removed more easily, for example, using adhesive strips with a release device. However, according to Ternus, the best fix is ​​the one that doesn’t need to be addressed in the first place.

iPhone 14 with a medium frame
Source: iFixit

Efficiency rather than modularity
When asked by a t3n reporter to what extent Fairphone’s approach could be applied to the iPhone, an Apple executive dismissed the concept. Apple aims to produce a smartphone that will last as long as possible. On the other hand, Fairphone’s design contradicts this concept, as it is fraught with the challenges and drawbacks that modular systems bring. As an example, Ternus cites connections between components, which he sees as potential sources of error. By principle, Fairphone has a good number of those. It will also be accompanied by high material consumption, which will lead to the wrong direction.

Silicon apple chips are an exact match
Nor did he want to leave in-house chip production unmentioned, which now also includes the Mac division as well as iPhones and guarantees impressive performance-per-watt values. Unlike Fairphone, everything from Apple comes from a single source and with the increased battery life, the life of products from Cupertino is greatly extended. According to Ternus, this decisively contributes to a better environmental situation and also guarantees happier customers, since there is no need to make compromises.