Apple Fined $2 Million in Brazil for Selling iPhones Without Chargers

[gavroche]

Hahaha thanks man I can’t wait to get off the grid with my horse in the nearest cave outside city. Governments are so oppressive ugh


I think this has devolved into just insulting people that don’t agree with you (ironic considering the recently brought up topic of “adulthood”) in the name of brand loyalty with Apple so I’m probably gonna take the high road on this one and agree to disagree!

Im curious why you even need a phone anyway. In order to use it, it needs a cell plan. They dont come with a cell plan, you have to sign up for one on your own. Given your belief that one cannot acquire a charger on their own, surely you cannot expect them to get a cell plan either...

 

[Matthew.H]

You used the word “most”, most makes it sound like an environmental win. Of course Apple could have just left the environmental impact out of their statement and just said they are no longer including a charger. Let them get criticized for it, as it would have been one less thing to “call them out on”.

I agree with you that yes most people likely do have spare chargers/cables they can use. I can see why Apple put it as an environmental benefit as in many ways it is. However the decision to remove the charger only one year after changing to USB-C in my opinion was the mis-step, if Apple had kept the charger in for one more year giving people more chance to get USB-C adaptors I doubt the backlash to the decision would have been as bad.

 

[nsayer]

I knew that was coming. Brazil don’t play no games.

What else would you call a $2M fine for Apple? Tim can pull that out of the stamp drawer.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

Im curious why you even need a phone anyway. In order to use it, it needs a cell plan. They dont come with a cell plan, you have to sign up for one on your own. Given your belief that one cannot acquire a charger on their own, surely you cannot expect them to get a cell plan either...

That was an epic joke thanks for that 😂😂😂

 

[TVreporter]

How do I become a lawyer for Apple?

 

[gavroche]

Man you don’t have to agree with me on this lol it’s okay. I see spending 1k on something as providing an entitlement to raise concerns and complain about things you want changed. You seem to think that because I buy something that I should keep quiet and accept it completely with all its flaws.

You wanna live that way go ahead, live and let live brother

The issue is that we dont disagree with expressing displeasure with a company for not providing what you think should be included. Complain to them... thats great. And if enough people complain about something, they would listen. Where we disagree is that the government shouldnt be passing laws telling them what they should be required to include. This is a problem for two important reasons: First, you could be forcing a lot of people to pay a higher price for the phone once it is included, and it appears a majority prefer not to have it. Even those that want the charger might still complain that its not the wattage/capacity they prefer and would still complain and go buy a better one. And second, where do you draw the line? There literally could be millions of combinations of products and services that some consumers think should be bundled. With cell phones alone, you have cell plans, cases, screen protectors, earbuds or airpods, etc. Should all those be incliued as well. Would you be happy if they included all those things and raised the price? Should we start doing this with everything?

 

[Mdracer]

That’s a hefty fine for ‘saving the planet’ :/

 

[Suckfest 9001]

The issue is that we dont disagree with expressing displeasure with a company for not providing what you think should be included. Complain to them... thats great. And if enough people complain about something, they would listen. Where we disagree is that the government shouldnt be passing laws telling them what they should be required to include. This is a problem for two important reasons: First, you could be forcing a lot of people to pay a higher price for the phone once it is included, and it appears a majority prefer not to have it. Even those that want the charger might still complain that its not the wattage/capacity they prefer and would still complain and go buy a better one. And second, where do you draw the line? There literally could be millions of combinations of products and services that some consumers think should be bundled. With cell phones alone, you have cell plans, cases, screen protectors, earbuds or airpods, etc. Should all those be incliued as well. Would you be happy if they included all those things and raised the price? Should we start doing this with everything?

If you want to sell your product in a country you have to play by their rules and regulations. It’s that simple, and nobody is exempt.

Just like we vote with our wallets, apple has the option of pulling out of Brazil entirely if they don’t like it.

Asking to include in the box a way to charge an electronic product shouldn’t be seen as an overreach by anyone who’s even remotely interested in consumer rights but… *gestures broadly at some of these wonderful comments in this thread*

 

[fbr$]

If Apple wants to help the environment, just stop selling iPads and Macs with ridiculously low amount of soldered RAM (3GB on iPads and 8GB on "Pro" Macs) with no way to upgrade the RAM.

 

[subjonas]

Phones generally have had chargers, not maybe 100% up to this point. Consumer electronic products, such as BT headphones, may or may not come with chargers, even though they are expensive. The manufacturers assume consumers have a way and means to charge the headsets.

Headphone jack hasn’t been included in iPhones since the 7 and then headsets went away. Do consumers still expect these items because past iPhones had them?

As I said above apple should pay the fine, include the 5w charger as an option for a couple of bucks more…or alternatively include the 20 watt charger for $20 more.

Of course there are exceptions like some Bluetooth headphones. I merely included electronics in general because the vast majority precedent helps to back up the common understanding that phones include chargers. This is due to established precedent, irregardless of price.

With the headphones removal, it has similar implications but much less so. It was never the case that all phones came with headphones, though iPhones always did. So Apple was much less obligated to inform customers of the change.

Yes, they should pay the fine if they were in breech of laws. But going forward, I believe they shouldn’t be obligated to offer free or discount chargers as long as they inform customers adequately. If they choose not to for whatever reason, then your solution seems like a decent alternative.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

If Apple wants to help the environment, just stop selling iPads and Macs with ridiculously low amount of soldered RAM (3GB on iPads and 8GB on "Pro" Macs) with no way to upgrade the RAM.

You should see what they’re doing in some parts of Europe with bundling the brick in a completely separate packaging that’s way more wasteful than just including the charger in the original box.

None of this is for environmental reasons, none of it.

 

[gugy]

Brazil - what a racket!

Run by gangsters now.

like in the USA is much different.

 

[gugy]

Good for Brazil for standing to Apple's BS. We all know this is not about the environment and if Apple was indeed that concerned, they should offer free chargers per request or lower the iPhone's price.
All all about the money baby!

 

[Piggie]

I will admit I 100% agree with this.
You should not sell an average consumer a device, with an integral battery they cannot replace, without any means to charge it.
That's fundamentally wrong.

 

[jlc1978]

Lol because nobody’s buying their first iPhone or anything, nope that doesn’t exist.

I would guess the percentages of first time iPhone purchasers is pretty small; some of whom may be switching from a phone that already had USB C.

If it wasn’t financially motivated why didn’t they reduce the price of the phone by the amount the charger brick costs? Yeah didn’t think so

How do you know that? They may have lowered the price or avoided a price increase.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

I would guess the percentages of first time iPhone purchasers is pretty small; some of whom may be switching from a phone that already had USB C.

How do you know that? They may have lowered the price or avoided a price increase.

Because it’s something they’d brag about doing if they did it. Just like how the iPhone 3G’s flagship feature was that they brought the prices down to earth. Otherwise, MSRP was increased if anything

 

[I7guy]

You should see what they’re doing in some parts of Europe with bundling the brick in a completely separate packaging that’s way more wasteful than just including the charger in the original box.

None of this is for environmental reasons, none of it.

Because the EU first complained of e-waste and Apple came up with a solution?. Seems like separate packing for those who need, want and purchase a charger benefits the environment.

I don’t agree with your post.

 

[I7guy]

I will admit I 100% agree with this.
You should not sell an average consumer a device, with an integral battery they cannot replace, without any means to charge it.
That's fundamentally wrong.

Whereis it documented that consumers don’t have a way of charging an iPhone 12?

Seems like the same arguments are resurfacing as when Apple first announced this. I suppose it’s good to rehash everything.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

Because the EU first complained of e-waste and Apple came up with a solution?. Seems like separate packing for those who need, want and purchase a charger benefits the environment.

I don’t agree with your post.

They got rid of the charger the same year they changed the end of the included cable to USB-C. If you sell your cable and charger brick with your phone on Kijiji, like the vast majority of people do, you would never have a USB C brick in your house.

But yeah yeah “environment” etc etc

Hell I’ll throw in my anecdote. I’ve owned probably like 20 Android phones and 10 different iPhones in the last 5 years and I still have never had a single USB C brick in my house because I never purchased an iPad or any other apple product with it. And for me to spend basically mortgage-tier money on an electronic device and not have it come with a way to charge it is just unacceptable. You don’t have to agree with me on this - I’m not the one suing apple and investigating them - I just happen to agree with parties that do, and have my own personal anecdote supporting my take on it. Hopefully that’s more agreeable to you but somehow I doubt it

 

[The_Gream]

It’s a good thing I have tons of USB-A to Lighting Cables in my house and lots of power strips or outlets with USB-A ports. Stuff I have accumulated over the last 10 years of owning an iPhone or other Apple product.

But, I do understand that the 2 million is a fine for not following Brazilian law, and Apple obeys the laws of the land in which they operate. My question, will the 2 million dollar fine be used to supply the people who need chargers with chargers or go into some politicians pockets?

 

[I7guy]

They got rid of the charger the same year they changed the end of the included cable to USB-C. If you sell your cable and charger brick with your phone on Kijiji, like the vast majority of people do, you would never have a USB C brick in your house.

But yeah yeah “environment” etc etc

But wait, another poster thought “most” people have alternate ways of charging a phone. So which is it, most don’t or most do? Or let’s just say no-one knows about the tens of millions that bought the iPhone 12 without a charger.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

But wait, another poster thought “most” people have alternate ways of charging a phone. So which is it, most don’t or most so? Or let’s just say no-one knows about the tens of millions that bought the iPhone 11 without a charger.

Im not another poster so I’m not sure what you mean by that. I would lightly suggest you read the edit to my previous reply to you - I put in an anecdote that sort of explains my take on this.

 

[DEXTERITY]

I knew that was coming. Brazil don’t play no games.

They play games with their citizens lives..covid nightmare there

 

[Suckfest 9001]

They play games with their citizens lives..covid nightmare there

Doesn’t their president basically think COVID is just a flu or something. Not a good place to be right now, they’re getting US-level death rates per day at this point

 

[I7guy]

Im not another poster so I’m not sure what you mean by that. I would lightly suggest you read the edit to my previous reply to you - I put in an anecdote that sort of explains my take on this.

Honestly, I don’t really care it’s not a sticking point for me personally. I have at least 10 different usb-a cables and 4 5w bricks and 3 12 watt chargers.

My own take is based on an analogy in the car world. My son bought a new car and the dealer didn’t even fill up the car with a tank of gas. (Not their policy they said)

Bottom line, you gotta know what you buying and what you’re getting for your money. The charger was never free anyway, you paid for it with the price of the phone. (And for what it’s worth I do believe there is a positive environmental impact)