A total of 36 different smartphones were put through tests in order to find out and compare their toxicity levels. The results of the comparison shows that over the last 5 years, toxicity levels in smartphones have dropped significantly. The test results indicate that the older the phone, the higher the toxicity levels. For instance, the first version of the iPhone which was announced and released in 2007 ranks among the phones that are tagged as "high concern." Meanwhile, the latest version released by Apple called the iPhone 5, is is one of only 6 handsets classified as "low concern." The takeaway is that manufacturers are getting better and better at producing phones that wouldn't put a user's health at risk.
What Else You Need To Know
- Two different versions of the iPhone can be found in the "low concern" category, and these are the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 4S.
- For something that was "designed for humans," the Samsung Galaxy S III was classified as one of the smartphones in the "medium concern" category.
Other sources
Oddly enough, the study found that manufacturers are not consistent with their use of toxic chemicals across different smartphone models. Samsung, which makes three of the best-ranked phones, was found to have also made some of the worst ranked handsets.- Dan Graziano, BGR
- BGR
- Study shows the iPhone 5 is one of the least likely to burn you with toxic chemicals
- Geek.com
- 36 smartphones X-rayed to discover how toxic they are
- Venture Beat
- iPhone 5 beats Samsung Galaxy S3 in toxicity tests
- MacWorld
- Newer smartphones have fewer toxic chemicals, teardown finds
- iPhone In Canada Blog
- Scientific Study Reveals iPhones Continue to Have with Less Toxics Than Before
- Electronista
- iFixit: new iPhones less toxic than previous models