Apple says the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are built with 40 percent recycled content overall, including an enclosure made from 85 percent recycled aluminum and a battery that uses 100 percent recycled cobalt. The packaging is 100 percent fiber-based.
Those are the four environmental figures in Apple’s release, and they are the only ones. Apple did not compare them to the iPhone 17 Pro in the announcement, so there is no official measure of how much has changed year over year.
The four numbers Apple gave
| Area | Apple’s figure |
|---|---|
| Recycled content overall | 40 percent |
| Aluminum enclosure | 85 percent recycled aluminum |
| Cobalt in the battery | 100 percent recycled |
| Packaging | 100 percent fiber-based |
What each figure covers
The 40 percent figure is the share of the whole phone that comes from recycled sources. Apple has not said how that is measured, whether by weight or by some other method, so it is best read as Apple’s own headline rather than a spec you can compare across brands.
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The enclosure is the metal frame of the phone, and 85 percent of its aluminum is recycled according to Apple. The design itself carries over from the 17 Pro generation with a new rear finish, as our announcement coverage explains.
Cobalt is one of the materials in the battery, and Apple says all of it is recycled in the iPhone 18 Pro. That is the most specific of the four claims, since it applies to a single material in a single component rather than a blended average.
Fiber-based packaging means the box and its inserts are made from paper-derived material. Apple’s release does not go into more detail than the 100 percent figure.
What Apple has not said
The release leaves several questions open, and they will matter to anyone weighing the environmental case for upgrading.
- Recycled shares for other materials, such as rare earth elements, gold, tin or the glass
- Whether the figures differ between the 6.3-inch Pro and 6.9-inch Pro Max
- The carbon footprint of either model
- How the 40 percent overall figure compares with the iPhone 17 Pro
- Whether the new rear finish changes any of the material figures
Apple typically publishes a product environmental report for new iPhones, but it has not said when one will appear for the iPhone 18 Pro.
The phones go up for pre-order on Saturday, September 12, at 5 a.m. PT, and ship on Friday, September 18. Our pre-order guide has the timing, and the live blog will note any environmental details Apple adds.
