Apple’s silver lining: global warming ‘to boost iphone sales’

Climate change may be the biggest threat humanity faces, but for Apple the risk of environmental disaster has an upside: it will sell more iphones.

That’s the verdict in a report published by the company to examine how it would be affected by dramatic environmental change.

It said many of the iphone’s features would be attractive to people worried about how they and their loved ones will survive the kind of natural disasters caused by rising temperatures.

The company claims phones can act as a “backbone communication network” in emergency situations. It added: “They can serve as a flashlight or a siren; they can provide first-aid instructions; they can act as a radio; and they can be charged for many days via car batteries or even hand cranks”. Such tools could lead to “increased customer loyalty and demand”, Apple said.

The comments come in a report published by the CDP, a Uk-based non-profit organisation that asks companies to report on their environmental impact.

Apple estimates that demand could be high enough to lift sales by $920m (around £703m). It also predicts being in a good position to benefit from governments forcing companies to make electronic products consume less energy.

In January, it said it would cut iphone production by 10 per cent because of disappointing sales in late 2018, blaming the economic slowdown in China.