The new iPhone is set to hit Australian shelves, and despite being a minor upgrade on the previous model, it could see millions of phones being purchased rather quickly.
But what happens to old phones once they are replaced?
Environmental scientists are calling for consumers to curb the frequency they replace electronic devices in a bid to improve people's health.
Next time you purchase a new mobile phone or electronic device, think how you are going to dispose of your existing device.
Scientists say the effects of chemical contamination from e-waste has already started impacting our health, and the health of future generations.
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Professor Ming Wong is the director of the Croucher institute for Environmental Sciences at Hong Kong Baptist University.
"At the moment it's a headache to deal with all this contaminated sites. These sites are highly contaminated according to our results and also it's a mixture of chemicals. So it would be very difficult, but so far it doesn't seem to be a viable message in dealing with the remediation."
Professor Wong says unborn babies are already exposed to contaminants while in their mother's womb, and their exposure will only continue as they grow up.
He says while chemicals used in devices are deemed safe, it is when chemicals mix when they are in landfill that could also harm future generations.
Professor Shoji Nakayama, from the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Japan, is looking at whether there is a link between chemical exposure and developmental disorders.
Professor Nakayama is concerned that it will take a while before the impacts of chemical exposure is fully understood.
"Cemical A is not mixed with chemical B for the testing. Or we have hundreds and hundreds of combinations of mixtures so we're not getting into that yet but the US EPA and other leading countries in Europe are looking into the mixtures, so I think the mixture is the big thing for the next ten years or so."
Around the world, there are an estimated five million contaminated sites that see toxic chemicals and heavy metals filtering into waterways.
For Professor Wong, from Hong Kong Baptist University, it is not the countries with the most electronic devices that face the greatest proportion of pollution.
"We have noticed the transboundary movement of this electronic waste, so this waste material is moving from very affluent countries to less affluent countries."
Big electronic device producers have felt the pressure to sell environmentally friendly goods, however Professor Wong says placing a limit on the frequency people replace their device should also be considered.
"There seems to be an increasing trend. Some of the big companies, they try to have this so-called producer responsibility, I think this is important. I think at the same time somehow, we need some kind of regulation, try to lengthen the life expectancy of these products."

