Not a real Apple exec. TBS A big push for Apple this year is recycling, as it uses partners and fancy new robots to make sure that valuable parts from the millions of iPhones sold per year don't end up in landfills. 
 
 The company released its annual environmental report on Thursday, and it included some information about just how much it can recover from old computers — over 61 million pounds of steel, aluminum, glass, and other materials. 
 
 As part of that, Apple recovered 2,204 pounds of gold— well over a ton. 
 
 At the current spot price of $1,229.80 per troy ounce of gold, Apple recovered just under $40 million in gold from old phones and computers. 
 
 But where did this $39,502,000 of gold come from? According to Fairphone, an activist group focused on electronics supply chains, the average smartphone uses 30 milligrams of gold, mostly in circuit boards and other internal components. And Apple pays to recycle millions of iPhones and other computers that have tiny bits of gold in them. 
 
 It's also possible that Apple might have recycled a few golden Apple Watches, which have been estimated to have over 50 grams of 18-karat gold in it. But it's hard to imagine people who spent over $10,000 on an Apple Watch would turn it back to Apple for recycling in less than a year. 
 
 Here's the full table with the amount of materials Apple recovered last year: 
 
 Apple 
 
 Now enjoy this Conan O'Brien sketch from when Apple announced that it was going to produce a gold-colored iPhone. Gold is best: ||||| Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage at Apple's Cupertino campus to introduce a smaller, four-inch version of the iPhone, called the iPhone SE. 
 
 The key marketing words for Apple products have usually been thinner, faster, bigger. IPhones have grown up over the past nine years, going from the original 3.5-inch display to the iPhone 6S Plus' 5.5-inch screen. Apple went in the opposite direction and announced a new iPhone that's actually smaller. 
 
 Cook also introduced a new iPad Pro, new Watch bands and some software updates. And he kicked off the event by previewing Apple's court battle with the FBI on Tuesday over iPhone encryption.. 
 
 The 4-inch iPhone SE 
 
 The big announcement of the day was the smaller iPhone SE -- a 4-inch iPhone with updated internals. 
 
 It looks like the iPhone 5S, Apple's last 4-inch phone released in 2014, but has the same processor and graphics performance as the iPhone 6S. Inside is Apple's A9 chip, which doubles the speed of the iPhone 5S. It can use Hey Siri, the hands-free voice assistant, has a 12MP camera, and shoots 4K video. There is an NFC chip inside so the phone can work with Apple Pay. 
 
 The smaller iPhone is an attempt to appeal to fans of more pocketable devices. Last year, Apple sold 30 million phones that were 4-inches and smaller. A chunk of Apple customers have resisted upgrading to the recent 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch smartphones. According to Mixpanel, a third of iPhone owners are still using a device with a 4-inch screen or smaller. 
 
 The 16 GB iPhone SE starts at $399 but will be free with a two-year contract or $17 a month on an installment plan. The company will start taking orders for the phone on March 24, and it will be available on March 31. 
 
 New 9.7-inch iPad Pro 
 
 Apple's other big hardware news is that it took the iPad Pro and make it smaller. Also called the iPad Pro, the new 9.7-inch version includes many of the same powerful features as the larger 12.9-inch Pro model. 
 
 Inside is the same A9x chip. The screen is less reflective but brighter and has more color saturation, for all those pros using it as a primary work device. It has a true tone display that measures the color temperature of ambient light with new light sensors and adjusts the screen accordingly. 
 
 The smaller iPad Pro works with the Apple Pencil stylus and new line of snap on keyboards the company introduced in with the original iPad Pro. People really like using the cameras on their tablets, for some reason, so the new iPad Pro has a 12-megapixel camera and a LED back-facing flash. 
 
 The tablet starts at $599 for the 32 GB Wi-Fi version and $749 for the 129 GB model. In a first, Apple is offering a new larger 256 GB option that starts at $899. It comes in silver, gold, space gray and rose gold. 
 
 Apple Watch gets cheaper, more colorful 
 
 Apple (AAPL) really wants people to try out the Apple Watch. Tim Cook announced a new line of straps for the wearable, including all new woven nylon bands, a space black Milanese Loop, and additional sport and leather bands in a variety of colors. 
 
 Pretty watch straps on their own might not be enough to lure in new customers, so Apple dropped the price of the watch. It now starts at $299. 
 
 Why go small? Apple says it sold 30 million four-inch iPhones in 2015, so there's clearly demand for a smaller, cheaper iPhone. 
 
 Software Updates 
 
 The latest version of Apple mobile operating system, iOS 9.3, is available starting today. Key new features including Night Shift, which adjusts the screen for late night reading for better sleep, and finger print lock for top secret documents in the Notes app. 
 
 There is a small update for the Apple TV OS that adds folders for apps and Siri voice dictation. 
 
 It also announced a new health-related jSDK called CareKit. It's built for personal care apps. For example, a hospital might make an app to help patients taking the proper steps after a major surgery. The first application is a partnership with major universities and medical centers for monitoring Parkinson's. 
 
 Encryption 
 
 Before the iPhone SE and Watch announcement, Cook opened with what he admitted is "on everybody's mind": encryption. 
 
 "We built the iPhone for you our customers and we know that it is a deeply personal device," said Cook. "For many of us the iPhone is an extension of ourselves." 
 
 "We need to decide as a nation how much power the government should have over our data and over our privacy," said Cook. "We will not shrink from this responsibility." 
 
 On Tuesday, Apple will face off against the FBI in a California court. 
 
 Related: Apple could reveal mini iPhone 5SE on March 21 
 
 Apple likes the environment 
 
 Apple brought out Lisa Jackson, its vice president of environment, to talk about a new, special Apple employee, Liam. 
 
 Liam is a custom robot that takes old iPhones apart to recycle them. While it disassembles them, it detects what components can be reused and recycled. It identifies materials in a device like gold, silver and tungsten. In the future, you might see a Liam robot doing its thing inside an Apple store. 
 
 Apple uses 100% renewable power in 25 countries including the US and China. In China, Apple even built a solar farm to accommodate adorable grazing yaks.
– Apple has released figures on its Apple Renew recycling program, and it's clearly paying dividends. Out of nearly 90 million pounds of electronic equipment it recovered last year, 61 million pounds were recycled, Apple reports. Specifically, it reclaimed 23 million pounds of steel; 13 million pounds of plastic; 12 million pounds of glass; 4.5 million pounds of aluminum; 3 million pounds of copper; 6,600 pounds of silver; and 2,200 pounds of gold. That amounts to $1.7 million worth of silver, $6.5 million of copper—and a whopping $43 million in gold, reports Quartz. Activist group Fairphone, which watches electronics supply chains, notes that a typical smartphone contains 30 milligrams of gold, mainly in circuit boards and other internal components, reports Business Insider. It's not a lot, but spread across millions of phones and other electronics, it adds up. CNNMoney reports that while it's pricey, gold is a popular choice in consumer electronics for being corrosion resistant yet excellent at conducting electricity. (Silver is a superior conductor but corrodes easily.) In March, Apple unveiled an experimental bot called Liam, which can disassemble an iPhone in 11 seconds and sort its parts for recycling. Prototypes are already at work, and the line is designed to take apart 1.2 million phones a year. "It's an experiment in recycling technology, and we hope this kind of thinking will inspire others," Apple notes. (This woman unknowingly dropped off a $200K Apple I to be recycled.)