...or keep the the unofficial one and possibly electrocute yourself. But hey at least you save $15.
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Apple Launches Third-Party USB Charger 'Takeback Program'
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...or keep the the unofficial one and possibly electrocute yourself. But hey at least you save $15.
I would say that this is a much larger problem than third party chargers and this is with official Apple cables.
I would say $20 is definitely too much to ask for a high quality charger, they should be around $10 and come with a USB cable....$20 should get you all international adapters, cable and wall charger (see Amazon Kindle's Quick Chargers for the Fire HD)
I don't think you get the extension cable for the ipad charger anymore, at least based on the apple.com reviews.
The wording implies that it's worldwide:
For a limited time, you can purchase one Apple USB power adapter at a special price $10 USD or approximate equivalent in local currency.
People seeking to scam Apple over this policy should first spend a few days standing in their bathtubs up to their ankles in water while continuously plugging and unplugging their iPhones into their electrically live non-Apple chargers.
Wish this was for the lightning cables. I just bought a 3 pack and they dont work with ios7. They still work with ios6 so I can use them on some devices but pretty soon they wont be any good for anything.
Of course, it's admittedly a good PR move too, but at the same time, they nevertheless also showed, that they care about their customers, and you don't always see that from other companies.
If I bring in a crappy underpowered 0.8W USB power adapter with my iPad 4, can I get a 12W replacement for $10? Does the replacement depend on the iDevice brought in at the same time, or some other interpretation of what kind of device the old charger is 'supposed' to go with?
Apple's chargers are not designed primarily with cost in mind, it's clear when looking at the circuitry and component choices. But even so, we are talking about spending an extra 20c per charger over what is essential. The iPhone charger does not cost Apple even $1 to produce - I can guarantee you that. The fact they sell it for $20 is rather obscene, but they can get away with it because most of their customers don't think twice about spending $20 and it feels good and gives them peace of mind to have an original charger.
Now the problem with cheap Chinese chargers is that they are forced to sell for way too little - and the manufacturer's profit margin is razor thin, but the competition fierce. The only way to make some buck in this market is to go and cut everything down to the absolute minimum cost. Unfortunately they don't even stop when it comes to safety critical elements of the design. Safety is compromised by design, component quality/reliability is poor. The performance is poor as well - but at least that doesn't kill anybody!
Who's to blame for this? The Chinese? While they certainly don't possess the basic human decency and compassion that would stop them from willingly producing safety compromised products, let alone their engineering ignorance to see the safety issues in the first place. It is ultimately the western buyer who makes all this possible - our own kind comes to China and pushes the vendors for the cheapest prices imaginable and also WILLINGLY AND KNOWINGLY buy non-complying chargers plastered with safety certificates THEY ALL UNDERSTAND AND AGREE will be faked.
Chinese iPhone charger costs about 60c in the market in Shenzhen, guess who pockets any profit when you buy it for $1 at Amazon.
Apple's iPhone sells at perhaps 300% of it's manufacturing cost. Apple's iPhone charger more like 2000%. You be the judge.
Now the problem with cheap Chinese chargers is that they are forced to sell for way too little - and the manufacturer's profit margin is razor thin, but the competition fierce. The only way to make some buck in this market is to go and cut everything down to the absolute minimum cost. Unfortunately they don't even stop when it comes to safety critical elements of the design. Safety is compromised by design, component quality/reliability is poor. The performance is poor as well - but at least that doesn't kill anybody!
Who's to blame for this? The Chinese? While they certainly don't possess the basic human decency and compassion that would stop them from willingly producing safety compromised products, let alone their engineering ignorance to see the safety issues in the first place. It is ultimately the western buyer who makes all this possible - our own kind comes to China and pushes the vendors for the cheapest prices imaginable and also WILLINGLY AND KNOWINGLY buy non-complying chargers plastered with safety certificates THEY ALL UNDERSTAND AND AGREE will be faked.
Chinese iPhone charger costs about 60c in the market in Shenzhen, guess who pockets any profit when you buy it for $1 at Amazon.
Apple's iPhone sells at perhaps 300% of it's manufacturing cost. Apple's iPhone charger more like 2000%. You be the judge.
I hope this leads to cheaper 1st party accessories like cables and chargers. Apple knows they're getting away with murder with the price of these chargers.
They replaced my lightening cable without hassle after it frayed, first batch of lightening cables were definitely defective..
Dead serious. It's not Apple's fault that people choose cheaper chargers over the ones they sell. The people buying the cheaper chargers are responsible for their own decision. If Apple's chargers were faulty, Apple would be responsible for any and all damages related to their chargers. But that's not the case... Apple is implementing this program to maintain and improve their corporate image, not due to any sort of real or perceived responsibility.
Again, it would be nice if Apple's chargers were cheaper. But they're not. If that's a big problem for somebody, there are some pretty good third party chargers and cables- just read the reviews before you buy and realize that Apple is not responsible for any damages you may incur from using them.
Profit margins on accessories are huge. That's not just for Apple. I used to work at an electronics retailer when I was in college. We made next to nothing on computers or printers. The power cords, batteries, and ink, OTOH, were money makers.
Not sure where he got his figures - but here's some examples.
As far as the iphone goes - here's a breakdown of the iPhone 4s when it was released. $188. One could assume the 5 is around the same.
As far as the charger goes - it's probably closer to $1.50 to $2. I know when I worked in retail the base price on most usb chargers (the price the store paid) was anywhere from $5-10 depending on the brand. The store had anywhere from a 50-200% markup, again, depending on the brand, so we sold them from $15-$30 usually.
It's safe to assume it didn't cost the manufacturer anymore than a buck or two.
And if that makes you mad - the margin on inkjet cartridges was around 200-400%. HPs were the highest - but they price fix badly and will refuse to sell you any of their cartridges if you don't have a high margin.