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Liam – An Innovation Story

Apple1 HN recommenders · 2016–2020
5.5M views · demo · dated · Uploaded 2016-03-21

A short Apple promotional video about Liam, a robot that disassembles old iPhones so their materials can be recovered. It frames the robot as part of Apple's product life cycle and recycling story.

Cited in repair and recycling threads as Apple's showcase of its iPhone disassembly robot, and sometimes mocked as marketing for what is really shredding.

RoboticsRepair, teardowns & right to repairEnvironment, agriculture & food systems

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6 comments from Hacker News

@sp3322016 · in “Almost Nothing About the ‘Apple Harvests Gold from iPhones’ Story Is True”

Apple announced a robotics project last month called "Liam". [VIDEO] It recovers "cobalt and lithium", "gold and copper", "silver and platinum". The number "2,204 pounds of gold" comes from page 17 of this PDF [LINK] which prominently displays Liam on the cover page.

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@abalone2017 · in “Why Apple and other tech companies are fighting to keep devices hard to repair”

This is a super disingenuous article from the Verge. It's based on a highly biased "report" by the Repair Association trade group led by iFixit, whose business is impacted by this approach. They are now attempting to make an environmental argument. Pay close attention and you'll note that their premise, that user-repairable devices are better for the environment, is entirely unsupported . Where do you think most user-removed parts end up? In landfill. Whereas devices traded in to Apple can be recycled properly. Apple even has a custom-designed robot to disassemble iPhones to achieve maximum recyclability.[1] They also offer zero support for the claim that Apple's approach shortens the lifetime of devices. Apple offers a battery replacement program![2] You can extend your iPhone's life! And they recycle the old battery properly. iFixit just doesn't like that they can't sell you the kits to do it yourself. Apple's obvious motive, which this sensational article fails to dispute, is to make their devices smaller, watertight, and generally better. That is why they pack and glue the interiors with custom parts and seals. [1] [VIDEO] [2] [LINK]

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@jxramos2017 · in “A “right to repair” movement tools up”

This article taught me about Liam [VIDEO] "It is also investing in technology that makes it easier to recycle its products, such as Liam, a robot for disassembling iPhones." Very cool!

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@eltoozero2017 · in “A Message to Our Customers about iPhone Batteries and Performance”

> The throwaway economy Apple is thinking about this, see the Liam[0] robot that takes an iPhone down to constituent parts, and consider that the aluminum, steel, and glass are all quick turnaround raw materials. It's a start. [0]: [VIDEO]

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@rasz2020 · in “Apple says electronics recycler “illegally” reselling over 100k iPhones, iPads”

Yes, reselling is recycling. Apple redefines recycling to Will it blend [VIDEO] 100K devices back in the supply stream means Apple lost on at least $30Mil of pure profit.

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@rasz2020 · in “Apple says electronics recycler “illegally” reselling over 100k iPhones, iPads”

Its the other way around. Apple determined it was detrimental to their bottom line to repair and resell devices older than Iphone X. Devices with cracked screens, requiring battery/ charging port/ case/ button replacement, of fully working traded in [LINK] ones. What do you think happens to perfectly working iphone 8 plus worth ~$300 after its been traded in? Its not being resold [LINK] , it goes into a blender [VIDEO]

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