While some may be saddened by the news that Apple won’t be upgrading the 27-inch model. The most interesting speculation today is that Apple Silicon-powered iMacs are developing their own Apple battery technology and could bring their own designs to mobile devices as early as 2025.
This makes sense.
We know Apple invests a lot of time in battery technology. In 2018, it hired Soonho Ahn, Samsung’s senior vice president of next-generation battery and materials innovation. An went on to serve as global head of battery development for three years before taking on the role of chief technology officer of Volkswagen’s battery division.
[Related: What is UEM? Unified Endpoint Management Instructions]As Ahn’s departure illustrates, Apple isn’t the only company trying to move toward more advanced, low-cost battery technology. As the number of devices relying on batteries grows exponentially, their development is of strategic importance. While a lot of battery research is underway, bringing new designs to market appears to be a slow process. But Apple has the ability to pull it off; not only can it democratize new technology with a live event, but it also has the funding and commitment to carbon-neutral production to take the risk.
So, what’s the guess?South Korea’s ET News cited “industry sources” as saying that Apple is working throughout the battery design process to create a product that has never been commercialized before. It mentions using innovative new designs to get more out of standard battery materials like nickel or cobalt.
This seems to indicate that the company has found a new conductive material that can improve battery performance. In short, the report suggests Apple wants to make batteries that charge faster and last longer.
Report has legs. After all, it wasn’t until this year that Apple’s patent application revealed that the company was working with US government researchers to develop a product called a “synergistic additive for high-capacity lithium-ion batteries. ” The patentalso mentions using new materials to extend the usable life of the battery and speed up charging cycles.
Adding more substance to the porridge, we can see the use of new substrates and conductive materials becoming very popular across the industry, especially since the publication of the MIT study which found that this could be achieved by changing the substrate around the Apple smartphone battery competition for this type of technology seems to be quietly underway, so there’s no reason why Apple shouldn’t get involved. After all, it does produce millions of battery-powered devices.
But what about the environment?With only 5% of lithium batteries produced globally being recycled, it might make sense for EV startup Britishvolt to team up with Apple’s long-time materials supplier Glencore last year to develop a lithium-ion battery recycling center in the UK.
Glencore already claims to be North America’s leading recycler of lithium-ion batteries and is also building battery recycling centers in Italy, Spain and Portugal. The company aims to become a leading circular economy company, which, frankly, is synergistic with Apple, which is seeking to make its operations 100% carbon neutral by 2030.
Apple has previously vowed to use only recycled cobalt in its batteries by 2025 and said a quarter of the cobalt used in its batteries now comes from recycled material.
why this is importantApple explains: “We seek to one day use only recyclable and renewable minerals and materials in our products and packaging, and are committed to becoming carbon neutral across our footprint by 2030 – from our supply chain to use of the entire products we manufacture.” in a 2022 Form SD filed with the SEC.
The problem is that some of the most important materials used in power batteries are limited, and some analysts predict that global demand for some materials will exceed supply by the end of the century. This is part of a push for recycling schemes such as Glencore.
The problem with recycling, however, is that obviously during the process some of these materials are exposed to air, which means they oxidize and become harder to reuse. This is why extending the life of your battery can have such a big impact. It’s not just about battery life or fast charging, it’s about making batteries last longer before they need to be replaced and recycled.
Not only is this good for customers, but it also helps extend the life of products, makes better use of raw materials, and helps Apple achieve its corporate social responsibility goals.
And one more thingWhen it comes to energy batteries, Apple has another card to play. It already has 1 billion battery-powered devices, giving it whatever insights it can glean from the iPhones battery health software built into iPhones.
Information about current charge, battery performance, and personal Apple battery charging habits already supports smart energy management