How Your IPhone 5S Can Be Used To Help The Environment?

So, you went out and bought an iPhone 5s, huh? Look, if you want to drop a few hundred dollars on what basically amounts to an improved camera (one sycophantic website I visited that claimed to showcase the best 20 new features of iPhone 5s had six of them centered on improvements to its picture taking ability), then who am I to judge you? But hey, if you're going to be using the limited resources of this planet to upgrade your already ridiculously advanced pocket computer every year, then you should at least put your new toy to better use than spending hours on Instagram. So, in the spirit of giving back to a world that has given you so much, here are three ways that you can help save the environment with your iPhone 5S.

1. Siri

When Siri was first unveiled back in 2010, it was represented as being an intelligent personal assistant capable of helping iPhone owners with almost any task. Of course, in practice, if you wanted to do anything more than hear a robotic voice with no understanding of inflection say, "I didn't get that" a hundred times in a row, you were probably out of luck. Still, the potential was there. Now, with the vast improvements that have been made to the iPhone in general and Siri in particular, you can actually put your digital assistant to good use. Want to know where the nearest recycling center is? Just ask. The new and improved Siri is also completely at home in the car. So, if you want her to find the fastest route to the office and help you reduce the harmful emissions that your car puts out during your commute, you just have to ask. To top it all off, Siri now speaks a bit more like a real, living person. No, that specific change doesn't help the environment, but it's nice all the same.

2. Touch ID

Perhaps the biggest improvement made to iPhone 5S (unless you count the fact that it now comes in gold) is the advanced Touch ID feature. This fingerprint recognition device is built right into the iPhone's home button and allows users to unlock their phone, as well as make certain online purchases, at the touch of a single button. Up to five fingerprints can be stored in its memory at one time. How can this help the environment you ask? Well, really, the potential applications are limitless. Future apps will no doubt incorporate Touch ID into their programs, allowing you to control various aspects of your life all simply by allowing your print to be scanned. For example, let's say that Touch ID is able to become integrated into new home automation systems. By scanning your finger, your iPhone could relay information to your house about body temperature, automatically contacting the thermostat and having it change the temperature to suit your needs. This would result in less wasted energy around the house, and as such, a smaller overall carbon footprint for your home.

3. Battery

In order to make the battery that goes into your phone, several less-than environmentally friendly steps are necessary. For one thing, special rare metals need to be strip-mined out of the earth, the process of which results in toxic contamination of groundwater, disruption of natural ecosystems, and the release of dangerous chemical emissions into the atmosphere. Additionally, the production process itself utilizes massive amounts of energy and also produces harmful emissions. Finally, once the battery is depleted, it often ends up in a landfill, where it leaks dangerous chemicals into the ground. The point is, the less often that you have to replace a battery, the better it is for the environment. The new iPhone5s has a more efficient battery than has ever been available, so you'll be able play Candy Crush Saga for hours on end without having to worry about your battery dying out on you.

So do the right thing. Let the mind-boggling processing ability of your new iPhone 5S help you become just a little more green. Because, seriously, it's a lot easier to justify this kind of purchase if you use it for something other than Instagram. Besides, no one wants to see pictures of your dinner anyway.

About Author: Lindsey Patterson is a freelance writer who specializes in technology and the latest social trends, specifically involving social media.