Apple published a recycled content figure for every product it announced on September 9, and they are not the same number: 40 percent for iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, 35 percent for iPhone Duo, 40 percent for Apple Watch Series 12, 45 percent for Apple Watch Ultra 4 and 40 percent for AirPods 5.
Each figure describes the share of recycled material in the product, measured by weight. It is a materials statement and nothing more. It does not describe emissions, product lifetime or what happens to the device afterwards, and Apple has not published a carbon footprint for any of the five.
| Key fact | What Apple published |
|---|---|
| Highest recycled content figure | 45 percent, Apple Watch Ultra 4 |
| Lowest recycled content figure | 35 percent, iPhone Duo |
| Basis of measurement | Recycled material by weight |
| 100 percent recycled cobalt batteries | iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Duo, Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4 |
| Fiber-based packaging | 100 percent on iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Duo and Apple Watch Series 12 |
| Renewable electricity in manufacturing | Published for iPhone Duo only, at 60 percent |
| Carbon footprint | Not published for any of the five products |
Every recycled content figure Apple published
These are Apple’s own numbers, taken from its September 9 press releases, product pages and tech specs pages. Where Apple names an individual material it is listed alongside.
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| Product | Recycled content overall | Materials Apple names |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max | 40 percent | 85 percent recycled aluminum enclosure, 100 percent recycled cobalt battery, 100 percent recycled gold plating and tin solder, 95 percent recycled lithium |
| iPhone Duo | 35 percent | 85 percent recycled titanium enclosure, 100 percent recycled titanium hinge cover, 100 percent recycled aluminum, 100 percent recycled cobalt batteries, 95 percent recycled lithium |
| Apple Watch Series 12 | 40 percent, aluminum and titanium models | 100 percent recycled aluminum and titanium cases, 100 percent recycled cobalt battery, 95 percent recycled lithium |
| Apple Watch Ultra 4 | 45 percent | 100 percent recycled titanium case, 100 percent recycled cobalt battery |
| AirPods 5 | 40 percent by weight | None itemized by Apple |
What the headline percentage actually counts
Apple describes iPhone Duo as 35 percent recycled material by weight and AirPods 5 as 40 percent recycled material by weight. Weight is the basis, so a large metal enclosure made from recycled stock moves the figure a long way while a small component barely registers, however important that component is to the device.
Apple has published no component-level breakdown for any of the five products. The named materials underneath each headline figure are the whole of the detail on offer, and for AirPods 5 there is no breakdown at all.
Where these figures are not comparable
Apple Watch Series 12’s 40 percent is attached specifically to the aluminum and titanium models. Apple has published no recycled content figure for the new ceramic cases in pearl white and night blue, which are the headline materials story of that watch.
Apple Watch Ultra 4 carries the highest figure at 45 percent and is the simplest of the five in materials terms: a single 49 mm titanium case that Apple says is 100 percent recycled. iPhone Duo carries the lowest at 35 percent and is the most complex product Apple has shipped, with two displays, two batteries and a hinge of more than 100 components. Reading one as better than the other treats them as like for like, which Apple has not claimed and has not published the data to support.
The materials Apple names underneath
- Batteries: 100 percent recycled cobalt on iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Duo, Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, with 95 percent recycled lithium named on the first three.
- Enclosures: 85 percent recycled aluminum on iPhone 18 Pro, 85 percent recycled titanium on iPhone Duo, 100 percent recycled aluminum and titanium on Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4.
- Small parts: 100 percent recycled gold plating and tin solder, named for iPhone 18 Pro only.
- iPhone Duo alone: a hinge cover 3D printed from 100 percent recycled titanium, plus 60 percent renewable electricity in manufacturing.
- Packaging: 100 percent fiber based on iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Duo and Apple Watch Series 12.
Figures are not the same thing as claims
Apple’s September 9 releases and product pages, as published, attach no environmental superlative to any of these five products. There is no most sustainable line to weigh, which makes the reading straightforward: the percentages are the claim, and they say only what they say.
Where Apple does reach for a superlative this year it is about performance rather than impact, as with Ceramic Shield 2 and its three times better scratch resistance on iPhone Duo’s outer display, or the A20 Pro speed figures. Those are durability and performance claims. They are not measurements of environmental cost.
What Apple has not said
- No carbon footprint figure for any of the five products.
- No recycled content figure for the ceramic Apple Watch Series 12 cases.
- No renewable electricity figure for anything except iPhone Duo.
- No component-level breakdown behind any headline percentage.
- No recycled content figures for bands, cases, folios or straps.
- No repair pricing, which would tell you what keeping a product in service actually costs.
iPhone 18 Pro pre-orders open Saturday, September 12 at 5 a.m. PT and the phone reaches stores on Friday, September 18, alongside AirPods 5, Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. iPhone Duo pre-orders follow on Friday, October 16.
