If you’re having a hard time deciding between the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5 and the Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) Galaxy S III, maybe this piece of information will help you decide.
A recent study from iFixIt.org shows that the sixth generation Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) smartphone contains less harmful chemicals than it’s top competitor. The study was conducted by iFixIt.org and HealthyStuff.org. The researchers took apart thirty-six phones and placed the components through a special process called X-Ray fluorescence spectrometry, which enables them to figure out what chemicals were used to create certain parts.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fans can rest assured as their favorite smartphone (the iPhone 5) scored 2.69, a number that puts them in a low-concern category. Almost all the other phones in this category were considered green phones, this includes the Motorola Citrus, which earned the lowest score at 2.56.
The Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) Galaxy S III scored 2.99, a number that’s in the medium concern sector.
Surprisingly the most toxic phone was the iPhone 2G model, which ended up being a 5. According to iFixIt.org, the iPhone has gradually changed their phone for the better, “The iPhone has undergone a steady, gradual toxic chemical improvement in the last five years: the iPhone 2G received the worst overall score of all ranked phones, but the iPhone 4 and 5 are now among the top ten percent of phones.”
iFixIt.org also reported that not all Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) phones have high levels of toxicity. In fact, three of their phones(including Captivate, Reclaim, and Evergreen) received good scores. Unfortunately, their SCH-U140 phone received some of the worst scores in the medium category.
It’s good to know that iFixtIt.org and HealthyStuff.org teamed up to conduct this study. I think people need to know about the toxicity levels in everything we use. I think the more we know about the chemistry of technology, the more informed decisions we can make.
