The Extraordinary Raw Materials in an iPhone 6s

Published

6 years ago

March 8, 2016

Jeff Desjardins

The Extraordinary Raw Materials in an iPhone 6s

Presented by: Red Cloud Klondike Strike (Equity crowdfunding in mining)

Apple launched the first iPhone in 2007, and since then the iconic smartphone has sold over 700 million units around the world.

This best-selling handset sets the standard for smartphone performance and features. However, the iPhone would not be possible without the extraordinary raw materials that line the insides of the case.

Here’s what’s in an Apple iPhone 6s:

Screen

The iPhone’s screen is much more complex than it may seem. The aluminosilicate glass is bombarded with ions of potassium for strength. Meanwhile, a layer of indium tin oxide makes it touchscreen capable, and small amounts of rare earths enables certain colors on the display.

Battery:

The iPhone uses lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) chemistry in its cathode, with 60% of it being made from cobalt. It also uses a graphite anode and aluminum casing.

Electronics:

Processor Chip: The phone’s processor is mainly made from silicon, but it is bombarded by various elements such as phosphorus, antimony, arsenic, boron, indium, and gallium to give it superior electrical properties.

Micro-Electrical: Copper, gold, silver, and tungsten are used for electrical connections within the phone. Which metal is chosen depends on the need. For example, while silver is the most conductive metal, gold never tarnishes.

Micro-capacitors: regulate electricity flow Apple managed to guarantee it only used conflict-free tantalum in February 2014.

Soldering: Tin, copper, and silver.

Sound and Vibration

Speakers and Headphones: To get lots of sound from a small place, high-powered neodymium magnets are used. They are made from neodymium, iron, and boron, and sometimes also containing smaller amounts of other rare earths.

The same magnets also power the phone’s vibration function.

Case:

Aluminum: The iPhone’s case uses aerospace-grade aluminum with an anodized outside layer for extra protection. This layer is just five micrometers thick, thinner than paint.

Camera:

Sapphire glass: This synthetic material covering the lens rates a 9 on Moh’s hardness scale, making it nearly as hard as a diamond.

Material Substitution?

Of the 83 stable and non-radioactive elements in the periodic table, a total of 62 different types of metals go into the average mobile handset.

In 2013, academics at Yale University looked at these metals and metalloids inside smartphones, and rated their possible replacements. They concluded that 12 of these materials effectively had no replacements at all.

Related Topics:apple iPhone metals smartphone phone

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Retirement Spending: How Much Do Americans Plan to Spend Annually?

Retirement expenses can vary significantly from person to person. In this graphic, we show the range of expected retirement spending.

Published

2 days ago

January 18, 2022

Americans’ Expected Annual Retirement Spending

Planning for retirement can be a daunting task. How much money will you need? What will your retirement spending look like?

It varies from person to person, based on factors like your health, outstanding expenses, and desired lifestyle. One helpful trick is to break it down into how much you estimate you’ll spend each year.

In this graphic from Personal Capital, we show the expected annual retirement spending of Americans. It’s the last in a three-part series that explores Americans’ spending and savings.

The Range of Retirement Spending

To determine how much people expect to spend, we used anonymized data from users of Personal Capital’s retirement planning tool. It’s worth noting that these users are proactive regarding financial planning. They also have a median net worth of $829,000 compared to the $122,000 median net worth of the U.S. population overall.

Here is the range of expected annual retirement spending.

Expected Annual Retirement Spending	Percent of People
$10K	1.3%
$20K	3.3%
$30K	7.5%
$40K	9.8%
$50K	5.2%
$60K	12.7%
$70K	10.2%
$80K	6.4%
$90K	9.1%
$100K	5.4%
$110K	1.5%
$120K	9.7%
$130K	1.5%
$140K	2.8%
$150K	2.2%
$160K	0.9%
$170K	0.4%
$180K	2.7%
$190K	0.7%
$200K	0.8%
$210K	0.5%
$220K	0.2%
$230K	0.1%
$240K	1.6%
$250K	0.3%
$260K	0.2%
$270K	0.1%
$280K	0.1%
$290K	0.1%
$300K	0.7%
Over $300K	2.1%

Users are a mix of single individuals and people in a relationship. In all cases, expected retirement spending is what the household expects to spend annually.

The most commonly-cited expected spending amount is $60,000. Interestingly, this is roughly in line with what Americans spend annually on their credit cards. This suggests that people may be using their current bills to help gauge their future retirement spending.

Median spending, or the middle value when spending is ordered from lowest to highest, falls at $70,000. However, average spending is a fair amount higher at $100,000. This is because the average is calculated by adding up all the expected retirement spending amounts and dividing by the total number of users. Higher expected spending amounts, some in excess of $300,000 per year, skew the average calculation upwards.

Of course, given their higher net worth, it’s perhaps not surprising that many Personal Capital users expect to spend larger amounts in retirement. How does this compare to the general population? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans age 65 and older spend about $48,000 per year on average.

Chances of Retirement Success

Once you’ve determined how much you’ll spend in retirement, your next step may be to wonder if your savings are on track. Based on an assessment of Personal Capital retirement planner users, here is the breakdown of people’s chance of success.

Retirement Spending Chance of Success

The good news: more than half of people have an 80% or better chance of meeting their retirement spending goals. This means they have sufficient financial assets and are contributing enough, regularly enough, to meet their expected spending amount. The not so good news: one in five people has a less than 50% chance of meeting their goals.

This problem is even more troublesome in the overall U.S. population. Only 50% of people have a retirement account, and the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College estimates half of today’s workers are unprepared for retirement.

Setting Your Own Retirement Spending Goals

While seeing the goals of others is a starting point, your annual retirement spending will be very specific to you. Not sure where to start?

Financial planners typically recommend that you should plan on needing 70-80% of your pre-retirement income in retirement. This is because people generally no longer have certain expenses, such as commuting or childcare costs, when they retire. However, keep in mind your expenses could be higher if you still have a mortgage, encounter unforeseen medical expenses, or want to splurge on things like travel when you retire.

It requires some upfront planning, but being realistic about your retirement spending can give you confidence in your financial future.

Navigating Market Volatility: Why ETFs Are Critical Tools

Historically, the trading volume of ETFs has spiked during market volatility. We explore why ETFs are preferred by institutional investors.

Published

3 days ago

January 17, 2022

Why ETFs Are Critical Tools During Market Volatility

Investors experienced record-breaking volatility in 2020. During COVID-19 market turbulence, the CBOE Volatility index surpassed the previous peak seen in 2008.

In this infographic from iShares, we explore how ETFs rose in popularity during this time—and the characteristics that make them particularly useful during market volatility. It’s the first in a five-part series covering key insights from the ETF Snapshot, a comprehensive report on how institutional investors manage volatility.

The Methodology

To assess how institutional investors navigated this volatility, Institutional Investor published a report in 2021 based on a survey of 766 decision makers. Respondents were from various types of organizations, firm sizes, and regions.

For instance, here is how responses broke down by location:

21% Asia Pacific
36% North America
29% Europe, Middle East and Africa
14% Latin America

Here’s what the survey found.

Rebalancing During Market Volatility

In total, 90% of institutional investors said they rebalanced their portfolios between the first and third quarter of 2020. How did they do it?

Among all financial tools, ETFs were the most popular vehicle for rebalancing. For instance, ETFs were used by 70% of investors globally, compared to the 51% who used mutual funds or derivatives.

The popularity of ETFs was evident in market activity. From January to March 2020, ETFs as a proportion of total equity trading volume increased.

	January 2020	February 2020	March 2020
VIX	14	20	58
ETF trading volume	$95B	$136B	$240B
ETF as % of equity volume	26%	27%	36%

Based on an average of daily values. Reflects all listed U.S. ETFs across all asset classes.

This trend is true historically as well, as ETF trading volume has typically spiked during periods of volatility.

Want more institutional insights into ETFs?

Download The ETF Snapshot for free.

The Attributes Driving ETF Usage

Why are ETFs preferred by institutional investors? They offer three key characteristics:

Liquidity: ETFs make it much simpler to buy and sell large portfolios instantly, instead of trading individual securities.
Transparency: Among multi-asset managers, transparency of holdings is the top reason for using ETFs. A clear holdings breakdown helps these managers achieve exposures to particular asset classes, sectors, and styles.
Efficiency: ETFs can be traded quickly. They typically also have lower transaction costs relative to the underlying basket of securities.

Based on these key benefits, ETFs were an invaluable tool during extreme market volatility.

Growing Momentum

ETFs are also poised to help institutional investors navigate the market going forward. Globally, 65% of institutional investors plan to increase their use of ETFs in the future.

In fact, this is already coming to fruition. As of September 2021, the average daily trading volume of ETFs was up more than 5% compared to 2020.

Evidently, ETFs play a critical part in helping institutional investors achieve their goals.

Download the ETF snapshot for free.