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Apple Customers in France Still Get EarPods in the Box With Every New iPhone

MacLC said:
You all make good points. Using a bit of what you all said and combining it, just as Apple gave vouchers for Apple TV for people who purchased a new device, they could have given vouchers for chargers for people getting a new iPhone. The also could've made the new case + small charger case the same dimensions as the old case and given the option to ship together.

Apple pays teams of people to come up with ideas and I'm sure all of our ideas were considered but ultimately rejected simply because the real reason was not to protect the environment but to make a few extra 🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑

If Apple cared about the environment, they would allow aftermarket upgrades to components such as RAM, separate components so that if 1 $10 component dies in a 13 month old Mac without AppleCare that the user doesn't have to decide between a $1500 parts+labor repair job or a $1400 new computer.

When Apple sandbags RAM they're putting in the machines, then charges $200 for basic upgrades, they discourage people from upgrading to what they should have out of the box. Then when they need to upgrade, they're forced to ditch a perfectly functional machine that just lacks RAM for a new machine. That new machine hurts Mother Earth much more than a power adapter, but it massages, Tim Cook's 🤑.


Sadly, just today I finally installed Windows on my Mac. I have a bit of software for work that runs on Mac/Windows but won't work on Catalina. My existing 2015 MBP is long in the tooth and I need to upgrade sooner or later. From the looks of it, all new Macs have Catalina preinstalled and the upcoming Apple Silicon Macs won't run bootcamp. Apple is literally pushing me to Windows and I've been a Mac user since 1992. This sucks and so does Tim Cook.
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I think the narrative of Apple caring about the environment is primarily marketing. It's easy to be naive and support their mission statement at the surface level. However, their actions show the hypocrisy of it all. Year after year, they boast about their profits/revenues, and that's really the bottom line. Like you said, they solder on things which makes recycling or replacing components much more difficult. They don't package non-ubiquitous items (like the USB-C adapter), so you will end up buying it from a 3rd party who could arguably be more wasteful than if Apple did it.

With that being said, I will still continue to buy Apple products selectively because even though I think they are a hypocritical company, they have products for me where the pros outweigh the cons.
 
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Reactions: SnakeEater1993 and NetMage
macfacts said:
So has apple actually said they are doing this for environmental reasons? Or just some rumor/speculation from apple fans trying to justify the purchase?
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The irony is that the EU has for years been trying to force compatibility of chargers to reduce the need for new chargers with each purchase - citing the waste and environmental harm it causes.
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gnasher729 said:
For purchases in a store, this could be solved: Different price for iPhone + earphones and iPhone without earphones. You are only sold iPhone without earphones for the lower price if you bring a set of working earphones to the store, or if you buy the iPhone with some more expensive earphones.
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Alternative - include a coupon for a free charger block and/or headphones with each new iPhone. A lot of people wouldn't bother redeeming them, but those that actually needed/wanted it would do so.
 
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IF and i say IF the iphone and ear pods are packaged in the same box, I wonder how many US die hard Apple fans will be desperate to get their hands on a French issued iphone because the Apple fans will say it's super rare because no such packaging will exist in the US. Then it will be sold on US ebay at a super inflated price due to it being so rare in the US hahaha :)
 
macfacts said:
So has apple actually said they are doing this for environmental reasons? Or just some rumor/speculation from apple fans trying to justify the purchase?
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There's no reason to justify anything. 99% of us never touch the extra junk that comes with our phones.
 
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Kobayagi said:
Let's not kid ourselves and just admit Apple just wants to squeeze that last penny out of their customers. If they really, really cared, then the iPhone would cheaper by the exact amount the charger and earpods cost, so the customer could still get those but not suddenly have to pay more. And this still causes that unneeded hit on the environment (if they care so much...)
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Wow. That’s a LOT of bluster from someone that literally has no idea what they’re talking about!
First... lol, your ridiculous assertion that Apple can’t both make money AND care about the environment at the same time is preposterous, thus meaningless.
Second... if you follow Apple at all- you’d realize this is a direct response to the EU scare that Apple (and all phone manufacturers) may be forced into using USB-C only in all of the EU countries.
Since their only real argument was “e-waste”, Apple IMMEDIATELY started implementing new policies so they can prove that they are cutting waste on their own, sans legislation. This is the culmination of that.
Don’t like it?
Go talk to the EU about their wacky proposed law.
 
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"to protect children under 14 from the potential risk of electromagnetic radio waves." ...What?! Does France know something the rest of the world does not?! What if someone loses their earpods?!

Either way, people hate on Apple for losing the earpod and chargers. The earpod is an accessory that was included for free. You don't need it to use your phone so thats understandable. As for the charger, I can see their point, you can stick a USB wire into anything and it will charge like computers and tv, even power strips now include a USB out. I am not defending them, I just see their point. Plus they slashed prices on their charges which honestly shows me they don't want to sell charges, if they increased the price that would be another story.
 
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‘protect children under 14 from the potential risk of electromagnetic radio waves.’

That is codswallop pseudoscience and conspiracy theory pandering nonsense from their government. We are surrounded by a plethora of radio waves, including from nature and background cosmic radiation. Having earphones doesn’t stop you from exposure to radio waves from millions of phones and antennas in your city.
 
Wow! That's very un-environmental for you France.

Seriously though, so long as they recycle them properly I don't see it as a problem. And to be rather frank, I rather them NOT be in the box when I buy my phone or at least let me turn them in for $5 toward something better than throw away EarPods.
 
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Whew! I almost thought Europe was uniting around this e-waste thing. It’s reassuring to see Europe acting like Europe again.
 
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What a stupid idea. A ton of energy travels right up that cord and is directed into your ear, right next to your brain. That's not protecting kids from anything.
 
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Reactions: justperry
ArPe said:
‘protect children under 14 from the potential risk of electromagnetic radio waves.’

That is codswallop pseudoscience and conspiracy theory pandering nonsense from their government. We are surrounded by a plethora of radio waves, including from nature and background cosmic radiation. Having earphones doesn’t stop you from exposure to radio waves from millions of phones and antennas in your city.
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While I also believe that use of the phone is most likely safe, it’s not because of your codswallop psuedoscientific counterargument.

macsimcon said:
What a stupid idea. A ton of energy travels right up that cord and is directed into your ear, right next to your brain. That's not protecting kids from anything.
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or this one either...
 
Kobayagi said:
People believing and actually defending Apple that environment is the reason they don't include these basic accessories in the box is just laughable. They're the customer Apple dreams of, that perfect sheep that never criticizes any of their moves and just swallows and buys everything.

Now, if I want a charger or earpods, they will have their own separate box, which might also need to be shipped if I don't buy them in the store. Which might very well be the case during these corona times. All of this means more used boxing materials and more shipping emissions etc., which obviously has an impact on the environment.

Let's not kid ourselves and just admit Apple just wants to squeeze that last penny out of their customers. If they really, really cared, then the iPhone would cheaper by the exact amount the charger and earpods cost, so the customer could still get those but not suddenly have to pay more. And this still causes that unneeded hit on the environment (if they care so much...).
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My opinion: Yes and no.

No: I believe Apple thinks a buyer for the new iPhone must be an upgrader and not an Android user migrating to iOS. That said, they assume the buyer must have an Apple product, so they sell the phone and said buyer uses the acessories from the previous product. That being said, it's less acessories they need to produce, reducing the quantity of mass production of those aforementioned acessories, which leads to a reduction on emissions and, as you said, shipping. So in a way, I do believe in them about reducing carbon footprint. Also, they are the only company that advertise strongly about reducing it and proud of it (same goes for their privacy policy). I don't see other companies advertising this the same way as Apple does, to the point of many people don't really care.

Yes: Of course that's not the only reason they won't ship these acessories. The main goal of an enterprise is to make a profit, so they sell the same acessories separately in order to increase it. It's a part of making business, and they are really good at making business.
 
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