Apple Does Not Include a Charger With All New MacBooks in UK and EU

[Mac Fly (film)]

Good thing Apples boxes are 100% recyclable.

Missed the levity?

 

[baryon]

Sure, make the charger a separate item, maybe someone already has one for some weird reason (why would you already own a 100W USB-C charger that you don't ever use but hey whatever). If you sold your old Mac surely you included the charger with it, so you wouldn't have it.

But then drop the price by the value of the charger FFS!

 

[delsoul]

Sure, make the charger a separate item, maybe someone already has one for some weird reason (why would you already own a 100W USB-C charger that you don't ever use but hey whatever). If you sold your old Mac surely you included the charger with it, so you wouldn't have it.

But then drop the price by the value of the charger FFS!

At least in the US, when you trade in your Mac to Apple, they just send you a box for the laptop itself and don’t request the charger. Definitely possible to have a charger and no computer

 

[applesith]

Isn't this due to EU laws, requirements, etc.? Interesting how MR decided not to specify that as the most likely reason. Apple financially benefits, but they are first need to adhere to laws before making such a decision.

 

[losthismarbles]

It's Apple's fault in this case--the law only requires that a version without the charger is made available. Apple is the one making the choice to only sell the version without the charger.

Not a realistic approach you've got going there. If i may? 🙂

You're a profit-driven entity. More so, a huge, world-second in earning, lobbying, gargantuan, mountain-like profit-driven entity; when you push, the markets feel it.
If they give you a choice between:
- spending money to manufacture new, separate chargers, then spending more money -logistics, not peanuts in this scale- to oversee relative distribution
- or doing nothing at all, just.. stop including a charger, which would also mean more profit for you right, you'd still charge the same

What would you do? 🙂
This was the EU's fault, pushing and pushing, without any clauses ensuring the self-evident, most basic outcome.
The one i just outlined above.

Poor, narrow thinking/execution.
When they give you a loophole, you tend to take it. For 25+ grand a month those boys and girls make in the EU parliament? You'd expect they'd have thought of that simple factor. Evidently, that was too difficult for them.

 

[SBlue1]

Like high VAT rates, this is another self-inflicted wound by Europe.

The EU rule doesn't even make sense. If you buy a new computer or electronic device, what's the chance you have an extra power adapter? If you had one, chances are, you bought it because you wanted an extra one in the first place.

I don't care about having another charger in the box. I just dumped my iPad 2 charger that I was using for almost two decades after I discovered that it was only 10W! LOL! I tend to keep the chargers from all my devices and had a full drawer and had to finally get rid of all the old slow chargers and bought a few that have multiple ports so they charge faster and save space.

 

[The_Gream]

Missed the levity?

No. But clearly I have to use emojis to express emotion. 🤣😉🥳🤷

 

[Unregistered 4U]

The legacy of “unintended consequences” continues! 🙂

 

[Dirk Pieters]

Poor, narrow thinking/execution.
When they give you a loophole, you tend to take it. For 25+ grand a month those boys and girls make in the EU parliament? You'd expect they'd have thought of that simple factor. Evidently, that was too difficult for them.

Absolutely. All these bureaucrats and regulatory groups … these people are no smarter than the average Joe. They’re job creations programs.

Silly rules invented by well-paid people who are out of touch with reality.

 

[Dirk Pieters]

To be fair, when in Europe, do as the Europeans do - where restaurants can't fathom providing their patrons free tap water. Where shops have no benches for bored waiting boyfriends and husbands. And where restrooms are paid without the benefit of being cleaned. Laptops without chargers fit right in (along with adhering to some EU regulatory encroachment, I presume)

I went into the ER with appendicitis around 7pm. Had surgery around midnight. Back home around noon the next day.

Paid about €37 out of my own pocket for that because healthcare. The thousands of euros saved (compared to other countries - ahem) allow me to buy a charger.

Oh no wait!! I have plenty of chargers from previous computers.

Enjoy your free tap water! 😉

 

[eifelbube]

But I don't want to share. My iPhone charger is by my bed. Under normal circumstances, someone with a MacBook will want a dedicated charger.

Just goes to show how spoiled we are, sorry.

 

[eifelbube]

The EU caused millions of Lightning cables to be thrown in the landfill in the name of being better for the environment. Its USB-C mandate will soon be replaced by a USB-D mandate and the same exact thing will happen again.

Well, it would mire likely be millions here but not in Europe. Most countries have laws and setups for recycling e-waste. For example, see info for Germany.

 

[delsoul]

I went into the ER with appendicitis around 7pm. Had surgery around midnight. Back home around noon the next day.

Paid about €37 out of my own pocket for that because healthcare. The thousands of euros saved (compared to other countries - ahem) allow me to buy a charger.

Oh no wait!! I have plenty of chargers from previous computers.

Enjoy your free tap water! 😉

You already prepaid for it. You paid a lot more than 37 Euros for it, let’s be honest about it. You paid into a giant pool of money and when you needed it, you dipped into it. It’s literally no different than someone who isn’t forcibly paying in to a government fund and then pays in full on their own when the time comes.

 

[delsoul]

I went into the ER with appendicitis around 7pm. Had surgery around midnight. Back home around noon the next day.

Paid about €37 out of my own pocket for that because healthcare. The thousands of euros saved (compared to other countries - ahem) allow me to buy a charger.

Oh no wait!! I have plenty of chargers from previous computers.

Enjoy your free tap water! 😉

I don’t disagree with you though on the fact that it would be an amazing feeling to walk out after such an event and 37 euros is all they asked from you before leaving. Focus on healing up, getting better, etc than worrying how to wire over a small fortune before they come to take your home. Glad they got you into the ER quickly and got you taken care of! We all squabble with one another here on MR and sometimes agree, sometimes disagree, but at the end of the day we’re all family and wellbeing is the most important thing!

 

[eifelbube]

…
What would you do? 🙂
This was the EU's fault, pushing and pushing, without any clauses ensuring the self-evident, most basic outcome.
…

Fault is the wrong word. When it comes to laws aimed at reducing e-waste, the right word is accomplishment.

 

[Ja50n]

Hopefully they’re setting pricing accordingly there

 

[Kottu]

So this IKEA charger you're referring to is also 140W USB-C for 4$ I assume. Otherwise what kind of comparison would this be, right? I don't get what the US$ price is helping here since this is related to EUR & GBP, though.
Great. Then you save money, because the price of the MBP was reduced by the cost of the Apple charger since this law started years ago.

As per the article, "In the U.S., for example, the MacBook Neo ships with Apple's 20W USB-C Power Adapter (sold separately for $19)". So, I gave price of a 20W charger from IKEA. In EU its about 4 Euros. In UK they sell only 30W and 45 W which costs 6GBP and 10GBP respectively. Don't be naive.

 

[G-News]

As per the article, "In the U.S., for example, the MacBook Neo ships with Apple's 20W USB-C Power Adapter (sold separately for $19)". So, I gave price of a 20W charger. In EU its about 4 Euros. In UK they sell only 30W and 45 W which costs 6GBP and 10GBP respectively. Don't be naive.

In Switzerland, the 20W is 25.-, the 35W dual port is 59.- and the 96W is 79.-
That translates to 31.42, 74.14 and 99.28 USD as of today.

 

[Kottu]

In Switzerland, the 20W is 25.-, the 35W dual port is 59.- and the 96W is 79.-
That translates to 31.42, 74.14 and 99.28 USD as of today.

I was referring to IKEA chargers.

 

[theluggage]

Well, it would mire likely be millions here but not in Europe. Most countries have laws and setups for recycling e-waste. For example, see info for Germany.

...oh, and don't forget all the old lightning and microUSB phones that got thrown away with those cables.

I don't particularly buy the greenwashing about this, but thanks to the EU the big crate of old chargers I have (mostly with barrel connectors of unknown voltage and polarity which let the magic smoke out if you plug them in wrong) should now stop growing now more and more stuff uses USB-C & there's a better choice of competitive third party chargers without the "Always use Brand X charger or kiss your warranty goodbye" FUD.

 

[hans1972]

This is apple being pathetic, it has nothing to do with the law. The law only applies to the EU (not the UK), and it does NOT require to sell the product without a charger (without a discount or offering one for free), just to give the user the option to buy it without a charger. Apple could have (as many companies do) offer the option at checkout (just like any other customisation already offered) to add a charger for free, or give a discount id one opts not to have it. They did not because they are awful as always.

The purpose of the regulation is to reduce e-waste. Making it cheap and easy to get a charger works against this.
Apple is just treating Europe as one continent and don't want to create special SKUs for the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland etc.

 

[hans1972]

So Apple is not allowed to ask during the ordering process whether a free separate charger should be included?

Apple is partly to blame!

The EU provided the perfect opportunity, and Apple's greed prevailed.

It would defeat the purpose of the regulation. The goal is to reduce the number of chargers produced. How will offering a charger for free help?

 

[hans1972]

Unbundling includes Option. 'Option' to me means 'Would you like a charger with that?' Same price. You want the charger, you take the charger. If, like you, you support not getting one, don't take one. Easy. Don't make me spend more money for a charger I do actually need.

EU has a FAQ on the regulation and they clearly states that what Apple does is acceptable:

"35. Does the requirement on unbundling mean that, when radio equipment without a charging device is offered for sale, there is no obligation to also offer the same model of radio equipment with a charging device?

Yes."

 

[hans1972]

I think it has little to do with profits and is more of a malicious compliance for the EU and UK.

No, even the EU wrote in their FAQ that what Apple does is fine:

"35. Does the requirement on unbundling mean that, when radio equipment without a charging device is offered for sale, there is no obligation to also offer the same model of radio equipment with a charging device?

Yes."

 

[hans1972]

It's Apple's fault in this case--the law only requires that a version without the charger is made available. Apple is the one making the choice to only sell the version without the charger.

Which is fine by EU's own statement:

"35. Does the requirement on unbundling mean that, when radio equipment without a charging device is offered for sale, there is no obligation to also offer the same model of radio equipment with a charging device?

Yes."