What's in your smartphone?
Explore the components, materials and environmental and social impacts of our mobile devices. Layer by layer, discover the rare metals and critical materials hidden in an everyday object.
Let's visit the inside of a smartphone together
Tap a layer to see the elements inside it, then an element to read its impacts.
Touchscreen and glass
5 elements · 1 criticalToughened glass and indium for the touch layer. Indium is a rare metal, mined in small quantities and hard to recycle.
Display
13 elements · 8 criticalRare earths for colour and brightness. Refining them is highly polluting and concentrated in a handful of countries.
Board and components
29 elements · 19 criticalGold, silver, tantalum and palladium on the board, neodymium in the speaker and vibration magnets. A few grams per device, tonnes of rock moved to get them.
Battery
8 elements · 2 criticalLithium, cobalt and manganese. Mining them weighs on water, soil and sometimes on working conditions.
Casing
6 elements · 0 criticalMagnesium alloys, plastics and flame retardants based on bromine and antimony.
Tap an element to read its impacts.
Source: Ingénieurs Sans Frontières
Your smartphone fills a good part of the table
Every lit cell is an element found in the device. Switch the angle to see where the risks gather.
Tap an element to read its impacts.
Ready to refurbish your fleet?
Extending a smartphone’s life avoids new extraction.
