You may have been following our Green Friday’s segment on our socials, and noticed we’ve been looking into how big companies and new technologies are making advancements for a greener future. If you haven’t, check it out! There’s some really interesting and exciting concepts arising.

Let’s take a look at how these pioneers in the tech industry are committing to carbon-neutral products, circular economy, clean energy for communities, and energy efficiency.

We were actually impressed with what we researched, and are grateful big companies such as Apple and Samsung are supporting recycling and making an effort to preserve the earth.

CARBON-NEUTRAL PRODUCTS

If there’s anyone that should be able to achieve this, it’s these two – right?

Apple: their corporate operations have been carbon neutral since 2020, but their plan is for all products to be carbon neutral by 2030. Through Restore Fund, they’re aiming to remove at least 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

We like the sound of that.

Samsung: in 2022 Samsung committed to planting 2 million trees and reforesting 200 hectares of land in Madagascar to offset their carbon footprint. They then gifted some of these trees to 211,000 customers, who can track the graph and impact their trees are having on the local ecosystems.

Clever marketing that benefits the planet? Yep, nice one Samsung. Can we have one?

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

This is where all commerce should be heading, recycling the old to create the new. Let’s see what their plans are:

Apple: they plan to responsibly source and recover materials, so that all their products are made with renewable resources or recycled materials. How great is that? All iPad models in their current line-up, including the new iPad Air, use 100% recycled aluminium in their enclosures.

Their single use plastic in their packaging is also down 75% since 2015.

Samsung: Similar to Apple, they’re striving for that circular economy of recycled materials. For us, it’s in the figures they share: they’re reused over 276,000 tonnes of recycled plastic in their products since 2009, and are on track to double this by 2030.

Both companies are also dedicated to improving durability so their devices last longer, keeping them out of landfill that way, too.

CLEAN ENERGY FOR COMMUNITIES

Renewable energy is a vital key for a sustainable future. Drawing from the earths natural resources to power our homes and fuel our cars, rather than digging it from the ground. Let’s take a look at where they’re at with this topic:

Apple: have solar projects in 7, second and third world countries, to help provide cost-effetive energy to communities facing energy challenges. Recently, they also brought renewable energy to over 3,500 South African households that previously lacked access.

For the people. Nice one, Apple.

Samsung: the information we could find here was for their production line, which we’re about. Their goal was for all sites in USA and China to use 100% renewable energy by 2020, but they beat that by a year. In 2019, they eliminated fossil fuel generated energy and replaced it with renewable energy from solar and wind.

We’ll admit it, we’re impressed.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Apple: power adapters use the largest amounts of certain materials, including plastic, copper, tin and zinc. By removing them from iPhone 12 packaging, Apple estimate they avoided mining over 550,000 tonnes of copper, tin and zinc ore.

It also avoids more than 2 million tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to removing 500,000 cars from the road a year.

We’re sorry we thought we were losing out with that one, Apple.

Samsung: to reduce energy demand of electronics, they’ve committed to making their products more durable and energy efficient. Samsung’s energy efficient products reduce the average household’s greenhouse gas emissions by 5,500 pounds and their energy costs by 30%.

In this way, they’ve also helped avoid over 301 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions since 2009. Woah.

 

We know we’ve just given you a lot of statistics, but we wanted to portray that it’s not all doom and gloom when it comes to technology and the draws on our planet.

We’re not saying there’s no need for further advancements, however, we are impressed. Hopefully big companies like Apple and Samsung continue making these commitments, and it has a ripple effect. Inspiring change throughout the industry.

Talk Tech With The Professionals

SOS Phone Repairs are specialists in high-quality, cost-effective phone repairs, tablet repairs, and PC repairs, all backed with a six month warranty. Founded in 2015 in Coffs Harbour and now with over sixteen outlets located all over Australia, our primary driving factors remain the same: people and phones. 

If you’re in the market for a new smartphone, SOS Phone Repairs stocks a wide variety of refurbished phones at a fraction of the cost of a brand new one. While each has been carefully restored to perform at their best, all refurbished smartphones purchased through SOS also come with a twelve month warranty, and can be purchased at any of our sixteen store locations.  

If you are on the hunt for a quote, diagnostic, or even just some good old fashioned, friendly advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch or give us a call today at SOS Phone Repairs. 

It’s that time of the year again tech-lovers. Today Apple have just released their iPhone 14 & 14 Max, and Apple Watch Series 8.

Let’s take a look at the latest specs, the new iPhone features especially have us super excited.

iPhone 14 & 14 Plus

Say goodbye to politely asking the bartender or the barista if they have a spare iPhone cord, or don’t mind popping your phone on charge for 30 minutes. This newest iPhone model has the longest lasting battery power yet, with up to 20 hours for iPhone 14’s and up to 26 hours for the iPhone Plus.

It’s also more durable, with a ceramic shield that’s tougher than any previous smartphone glass, and made with aerospace grade aluminium. The camera has also taken a level up with a faster and larger aperture, improving low light exposure by 49%. Say hello to nailing those perfect starry night sky shots.

But more excitingly than this (in our opinion anyway) is the SOS satellite emergency communication. This feature means your iPhone 14 can connect to satellite’s on clear nights to communicate with emergency services, even when you’re out of cell and wifi service. It can take as little as 15 seconds to send a message in clear view of the horizon and sky, or over a minute if you’re under foliage. It’s also set up that you can then respond with simple prompts to best answer your emergency situation. Pretty cool if you ask us.

The last spec we’ll touch properly on is the crash recognition, where your iPhone 14 is built to feel, hear and measure a crash by noticing sudden shifts in speeds, changes in cabin pressure (i.e. from airbags releasing), abrupt changes in direction, and loud sounds. If it thinks you’re in a crash situation, it will automatically call emergency services unless you opt for it not to. If you also have an Apple Watch, it will actually do this from your watch as it is likely to be closer to your body.

Way to go Apple, it looks like you’ve put a heavy emphasis on saving lives this latest upgrade and we are absolutely here for it.

They’ve also got a fun new Lock Screen where your favourite widgets are visible, and you can now even choose your font. Plus there’s that cool Dynamic Island where your front camera is, that is fully customisable and consolidates notifications, alerts and activities into one place.

While we’re on appearance too, if you’re looking for a reason to buy the iPhone 14 Plus – there is 21% more retina screen. We’ll just let that sink in.

Upgrades at a glace:

• Longer battery (up to 20 hours for iPhone 14’s and up to 26 hours for the iPhone plus)
• 21% bigger retina screen for iPhone 14 Plus
• More durable
• 49% better low-light photos with bigger and faster aperture
• Emergency SOS Satellite Communication that contacts emergency services even when you’re out of wifi or cellular reach
• Crash recognition that contacts emergency services without you reaching for it

Image source: Apple

Apple Watch Series 8

The new Apple Watch boasts the same two size options and design features as the previous models, with round edges and slim boarders, but with an option for an always on retina display. No more raising your wrist to check the time if you don’t want it!

Our favourite spec is one for our ladies, though. The series 8 introduces a temperature sensor that tracks your temperature even when you’re sleeping, so you can see changes over time. When combining this with heart rate and other cycle information you input into the watch, it makes it a lot easier and more accurate to track menstrual cycles and have a better understanding of potential ovulation for planning families. That’s pretty impressive.

The sleep tracker has taken a level up too, not simply tracking when you’re asleep, but how much time you’ve spent in REM, core and deep sleep, as well as when you might have woken up.

It can also measure your blood oxygen levels, take an ECG, and has the same built in crash recognition we mentioned with the iPhone 14.

Looks like we’ll all be living an extra few years, thanks Apple!

Wait, we’ve just realised we’re still writing this article and not lining up in store to get our hands on these two epic drops…. BRB

 

Talk Tech With The Professionals

SOS Phone Repairs are specialists in high-quality, cost-effective phone repairs, tablet repairs, and PC repairs, all backed with a six month warranty. Founded in 2015 in Coffs Harbour and now with over sixteen outlets located all over Australia, our primary driving factors remain the same: people and phones. 

If you’re in the market for a new smartphone, SOS Phone Repairs stocks a wide variety of refurbished phones at a fraction of the cost of a brand new one. While each has been carefully restored to perform at their best, all refurbished smartphones purchased through SOS also come with a twelve month warranty, and can be purchased at any of our sixteen store locations.  

If you are on the hunt for a quote, diagnostic, or even just some good old fashioned, friendly advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch or give us a call today at SOS Phone Repairs. 

 

How Best to Dry Out Your Wet Phone

We’ve all been there, especially our adventurous friends. Whether you’ve managed to spill a glass of water on it, dropped it in the boat or at the beach trying to nail that selfie, or simply got caught in the rain (hopefully with a Pina Colada…), we recommend doing these steps as soon as possible to prevent water damage in your phone.

1. Remove it from water ASAP

Seems like a simple first step but it does need to be said! Every second counts here, the sooner you can remove it from water and dry it, the higher chance it has of being repaired. The longer it’s left in water, the more chance that water has to seep into the phone.

 

2. Remove any cables that are plugged in

Water and electricity are not friends. If it’s on charge first switch it off at the power, then remove the cable ASAP, as the electricity can cause a short within the phone and create irrevocable damage.

 

3. Switch it off and dry the phone as best you can

We know switching off the phone seems counter productive, and it sparks all those ‘but it seems to be fine now, what if I can’t turn it back on?’ questions in your mind, but trust us on this one. If the phone is trying to operate while there is water inside, the heat created from your device can cause internal corrosion or damage in the mainboard.

When you dry it, the best thing to use is a lint-free cloth to absorb as much water as possible without any fragments of the cloth going into the phone, especially around any of the inlets (charging point and speakers). Please don’t try and dry it in the sun, use a hair dryer or (dare we even say it) pop it in the microwave (honestly, we’ve seen it all).

It’s also a myth that putting it in rice will help the phone – while some professionals suggest it may absorb some liquid, it can also introduce unhelpful elements, such as dust and starch.

We know how tempting it is to switch your phone back on and see if it’s working, but please try and leave it switched off for 24-48 hours so it can properly dry out. Impatience here could cost you a new smartphone.

 

4. Bring it in to an SOS Phone Repairer

Book it in (not on your water damaged phone) to your local SOS Phone Repairer. We can actually professionally dry the phone out for you for free, which is very helpful if you don’t have time to wait 1-2 day period.

Once we’ve dried it for you we can assess the damage and go from there. The quicker you can action all of the above steps, the higher chance we have of saving your phone.

 

What if I just got water in my speakers?

Repeat the above steps, and perhaps stand your phone up with the speakers resting on a lint-free cloth to see if any water drips out.

 

What if it just got a little bit wet and seems to be working fine?

That’s great that it’s working, but there could be residual water in the phone you can’t see. It’s a good idea to get it professionally dried anyway.

Hey, maybe even buy a life proof case while you’re at it?

 

Talk Tech With The Professionals

SOS Phone Repairs are specialists in high-quality, cost-effective phone repairs, tablet repairs, and PC repairs, all backed with a six month warranty. Founded in 2015 in Coffs Harbour and now with over sixteen outlets located all over Australia, our primary driving factors remain the same: people and phones. 

If you’re in the market for a new smartphone, SOS Phone Repairs stocks a wide variety of refurbished phones at a fraction of the cost of a brand new one. While each has been carefully restored to perform at their best, all refurbished smartphones purchased through SOS also come with a twelve month warranty, and can be purchased at any of our sixteen store locations.  

If you are on the hunt for a quote, diagnostic, or even just some good old fashioned, friendly advice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch or give us a call today at SOS Phone Repairs.