Reuters News ReportApple confirmedNew iPhone 11 series modelsThe Taptic Engine components are all made of recycled rare earths.
The Taptic Engine's design uses approximately one-quarter of the total rare earth elements used in an iPhone. Apple explains that currently, only 1 kilograms of rare earths are recovered from every 4 iPhones recycled. This is because rare earths are primarily used in micro-amplifiers and driver components, which are relatively small and difficult to disassemble with robotic arms, making recycling relatively expensive.
The recycled rare earths currently used by Apple mainly come from external cooperative suppliers, not from Apple's own recycling system channels. It also does not disclose which products these recycled rare earths were originally used in.
Rare earths are mainly composed of 17 inert elements such as plutonium, lanthanum, and thorium. They have been widely used in electronics, metallurgy and other fields, and have become key elements for the application of new generation materials. China currently has a higher content and relatively complete rare earth processing technology, followed by the United States.
