The environmental emissions of flagship smartphones: genuine efforts or phoning it in?

With manufacturers beginning to unveil their 2026 line up of smartphones soon, can customers reconcile best in class technology with concern for the environment? Greenly, a leading provider of carbon accounting for enterprises, puts the environmental claims of Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi and Google to the test.

With the recent launch of the Samsung Galaxy S26 line, leading manufacturers are set to battle for the attention of customers with the latest iteration of their smartphones. While the prospect of improved performance, bigger batteries, and better aesthetics is tempting, what impact do these cutting edge models have on the environment? 

For its comparison, Greenly compares the environmental footprint of four leading flagship models from Apple (iPhone 17 Pro), Samsung (Galaxy S25), Google (Pixel 10), and Xiaomi, taking into consideration manufacturing, end of life emissions, and use phase emissions. 

Additionally, this study considers the iPhone Air separately, by virtue of its thinner, lighter form, as well as greater use of recycled materials versus the regular iPhone line up. 

Manufacturing and end of life emissions (hereafter referred to as manufacturing emissions)

Approximately 80 to 85% of emissions are linked to the manufacturing phase. These emissions are often combined with transport emissions to reflect its delivery to the end user, and the end of life emissions which accounts for the disposal and possible recycling of materials.

All the companies studied declared these emissions publicly. The Samsung Galaxy S25 came out best in this regard, emitting 42.73 kg CO2e, closely followed by the Xiaomi 14 (47.22 kg). The iPhone 17 Pro (256 GB) is not far behind at 51.2 kg CO2e. Surprisingly, Google’s Pixel 10 lags behind at 73.8 kg CO2e, reflecting how its more experienced competitors have optimised production.

However, this paints an incomplete picture. Apple is the only manufacturer in this comparison to publish storage specific carbon footprints (128 GB versus 256 versus 512 and so on), showing that each step up in storage increases lifecycle emissions by a few kilograms of CO₂e due to additional memory manufacturing.

Google reports the Pixel 10 for the 128GB model only, Samsung does not provide storage breakdowns, and Xiaomi’s published figure is for the 256GB Xiaomi 14 – meaning the figures are not strictly comparable on a like for like storage basis.

Use emissions

The remaining emissions concern the use phase, stemming primarily from emissions linked to the electricity used to charge our phones. Assuming a lifecycle of three years, the Samsung Galaxy S25 comes out top again, emitting a measly 2.97 kg CO2e. The Xiaomi 14, used as a proxy for the 15T, emits 5.78 kg CO2, and the Google Pixel 10 stands at 8.2 kg CO2e. 

For Apple, since the study takes both the iPhone 17 Pro (12.8 kg CO2e) and the iPhone Air (9.35 kg CO2e) into consideration, Greenly has averaged them out to 11.1 kg CO2e to simplify calculations.

The difference in emissions between these phones is not down to internal components. Rather, it likely reflects the different energy mixes each company would have considered. Consider Google’s claim that its smartphone consumes 21 kWh of electricity over three years. Greenly estimates that such consumption would emit 9 kg CO2e in the United States energy mix, still heavily dependent on fossil fuels. In contrast, France’s cleaner energy mix would emit only 1.7 kg CO2e for the same consumption. 

Hence, the differences are likely down to Google and Apple using the American energy mix as a reference point, whereas Xiaomi and Samsung are likely referring to Chinese or Korean energy mixes, which have integrated clean energy to a greater degree.

The impact of sale volume

To arrive at the total impact of each smartphone, Greenly considered the total shipment volume in 2024 (for all models). Apple (231.8 million units) and Samsung (223.4 million units) lead the way, with Xiaomi (169 million units) not far behind. In contrast, Google lags behind massively, with estimated sales of only 14 million units.

Assuming that the companies sold only the flagships under consideration, the total impact would be as follows:

Table 1: Estimated total emissions by manufacturer and smartphone

Phone	Estimated shipments	Estimated lifecycle emissions (manufacturing + use phase), kg CO2e	Estimated emissions
Apple iPhone 17 Pro (256 GB)	231.8 million	64 (51.2 + 12.8)	14.83 million tonnes
Samsung Galaxy S25 (128 GB)	223.4 million	45.7 (42.73 + 2.97)	10.21 million tonnes
Xiaomi 14 (proxy for 15T) (256 GB)	169 million	53 (47.22 + 5.78)	8.96 million tonnes
Google Pixel 10 (128 GB)	14 million	82 (73.8 + 8.2)	1.15 million tonnes

The impact of sales volume is quite stark when only use-phase emissions are considered:

Table 2: Estimated impact of average use phase emissions (reproduced from page 11 of report):

Brand	2024 estimated shipments	Average use-phase emissions per phone (kgCO2e, three year period)	Rough annual use phase emissions	Equivalent cars on the road (one year period)
Apple	231.8 million	11.1 (averaged for iPhone Pro and iPhone Air)	2.57 million tCO2e	559,000 cars (approx.)
Samsung	223.4 million	2.97 (Galaxy S25)	0.66 million tCO2e	144,000 cars (approx.)
Xiaomi	169 million	5.78 (Xiaomi 14, proxy)	0.98 million tCO2e	213,000 cars (approx.)
Google	14 million	8.2 (Pixel 10)	0.11 million tCO2e	24,000 cars (approx.)

Google’s total use phase impact remains modest due to lower shipment volumes, equivalent to around 24,000 cars annually. In contrast, Apple’s larger sales volume means its use phase emissions are more than 23 times higher in aggregate. Samsung and Xiaomi also show lower totals. 

However, use phase emissions depend heavily on the electricity mix assumed in modelling, meaning real world impacts can vary significantly by region.

The surprise addition to Apple’s 2025 line up was the iPhone Air, a thinner and lighter model positioned independently of the regular iPhone and Pro line ups. Apple claims that the Air uses more recycled material to the regular iPhone and Pro line ups (including 100% recycled aluminium for the frame), and 45% of the electricity used in its manufacturing comes from renewables, compared to 20% for the iPhone 15 in 2023. Apple claims that the iPhone Air (256 GB) emits 55 kg CO2e in total lifecycle (manufacturing plus use phase) emissions, roughly 15% lower than the iPhone 17 Pro with equivalent storage (64 kg). Are these gains solely down to the use of recycled materials?

According to Greenly’s calculations, the Air’s claims of 100% recycled aluminium and 80% recycled titanium translate to minor gains at the level of individual devices – about 3.3 kg CO2e per device (5% of the iPhone 17 Pro’s lifecycle emissions). However, when this gain is extrapolated to Apple’s shipping volume (231.8 million units in 2024), it would save 764,940 tCO2e, equivalent to the annual emissions of nearly 166,000 cars per year. Relative to the competition, the Air’s focus on recycled materials put its manufacturing emissions (45.65 kg) quite close to the Samsung Galaxy S25 (42.73 kgCO2e) and the Xiaomi 14 (47.22 kgO2e). However, as stated earlier, Google only reports footprints for the 128 GB models, Xiaomi for the 256 GB model, whereas Samsung does not communicate on the impact of different storage configurations.

The Air also makes for lower use phase emissions. Assuming the phone is used for three years, each device would emit 9.35 kgCO2e, versus 12.8 kgCO2e for the iPhone 17 Pro – a gain similar to that of using recycled materials.

Who wins out?

Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi have all made appreciable progress in gradually reducing the footprint of individual devices, be it through recycled materials, new designs or efficiency at scale. However, Google’s headline impact is stubbornly high, and the low shipment volume probably does not provide an incentive to reduce it. 

Despite use phase emissions being low, customers can still play a major part in reducing the overall footprint. General upkeep such as keeping software up to date, avoiding overcharging and protecting one’s device can help the phone maintain performance for longer.

Alexis Normand, CEO of Greenly, concluded: ‘The gains achieved by the iPhone Air are quite small, but show a meaningful impact when spread over hundreds of millions of units. Can we make a similar impact by removing the incentive to produce and buy millions of new phones every year? Small steps to maintain one’s phone, or delaying a new flagship launch every two years will still allow us to enjoy the best of new technology while doing our bit for the environment.’

To access the full study, please click here.