Inside Apple's Infrastructure Where Millions Of iPhone Are Smashed

Dhir Acharya - Apr 19, 2019

You won’t see any signs directing to the infrastructure, there’s hardly any vehicle in the parking lot, and the door is difficult to spot.

You may or may not know this, but Apple has a secret infrastructure in Austin, Texas, where it recycles its iPhones. It’s hidden so well that unless you know the exact location, you will definitely miss it.

You won’t see any signs directing to the infrastructure, there’s hardly any vehicle in the parking lot, and the door is difficult to spot. However, behind that unremarkable door is an 836,000-square-meter warehouse where the most fascinating robot in the world is doing a wonderful job.

Inside Apple's infrastructure where iPhones are recycled

Meet Daisy, the five-arm robot that’s 10 meters long, capable of deconstructing any iPhone that Apple has ever produced between 2012 and 2018. The tech giant created Daisy, which can process 200 phones per hour, probably holding the key to the future of electronics recycling.

Apple announced Daisy in 2018 at the center of its new Material Recovery Lab in Texas, where the company aims at sharing Daisy’s technology as well as helping e-recycling. The iPhone maker hopes that academics, recyclers and other firms will join it in this project.

Apple’s VP of environment, policy and social activities Lisa Jackson said:

While the project may take some time, it will carry a whole lot of innovations.

CNET reporters have got into the infrastructure and watched Daisy work. Now let’s take a tour through Daisy's capabilities.

What you see in this photo is a traditional electronics recycling machine that smashes devices to reveal valuable materials and gather them.

However, during this process, the materials get co-mingled hence become impure.

In 2016, Apple announced Liam, its first recycling robot, which was used to disassemble the iPhone 6. It took Liam 12 minutes to finish one device.

This is the conveyer belt where an iPhone begins its trip with Daisy.

In the first stop, the robot separates the phone by jamming its prongs into the crease between the display and the body.

Next, the battery and screws are removed.

To remove the battery, Daisy blasts the glue using freezing air and knocks it.

Then, Daisy punches out the screws holding the logic board. It identifies the iPhone model and the angle which the device is sitting at to guarantee accuracy.

Lastly, the robot removes the cameras, speakers, haptics, as well as other bits. The remained is an aluminum shell that will later be carted off for recycling.