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Apr 12, 2001
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Apple must compensate a Brazilian customer who recently purchased an iPhone for selling the device without a charger included in the box, which violates consumer law, a judge has ruled.

iphone-12-box.jpg

Apple's decision to remove the charger in the box sparked controversy in 2020. Apple claims the move is for environmental reasons, claiming the decision is equivalent to removing nearly 450,000 cars from the road per year.

Nonetheless, the move has sparked some public and legal outcry. In the latest development, a judge in Brazil, a country that has long-questioned Apple's reasoning to remove the accessory, is forcing Apple to compensate a customer nearly $1,075 for the lack of a charger. As reported by Tecmundo:
According to article 39 of the Consumer Code (CDC), "tie sale" is an abusive and prohibited practice in Brazil, so it is not allowed to sell cell phone and charger separately. Therefore, Apple is being sentenced after selling an iPhone model and charger separately to a consumer in the city of Goiânia.

According to the result issued by Judge Vanderlei Caires Pinheiro, of the 6th Civil Court of Goiânia, Apple must compensate the consumer R$ 5 thousand for carrying out the "tie sale" of the company's devices.
Last year, Brazil fined Apple $2 million as a punishment for violating consumer law and disrespecting Brazilian customers, according to the head of the consumer group Procon-SP, Fernando Capez.

At one point, it seemed plausible that Brazil would have forced Apple to include a charger in the box for every iPhone sold in the country. Procon-SP said that the charger is an "essential part" of the smartphone experience.

By not providing one alongside the device, Apple was therefore breaching the Brazilian Consumer Defense Code, according to the consumer protection agency. Apple responded by arguing that many customers already have chargers in their homes, adding the environmental benefits of removing the charger and significantly reducing the overall iPhone box footprint.

Article Link: Apple Must Compensate Brazilian Customer Over $1,000 for Selling iPhone Without a Charger, Judge Rules
 
Crazy. I can't begin to imagine how hard it must be to decipher regulations in every country where Apple sells their products, to ensure they don't get cross-ways with some obscure requirement.
Think that it's not one person checking international laws, I would think there is a team focused on each country (or at least group of countries) to check this laws and others. Also this one is not pretty obscure, just that no phone can be sold without a charger. Apple could just give a coupon for a charger or ask during the purchase
 
At one point, it seemed plausible that Brazil would have forced Apple to include a charger in the box for every ‌iPhone‌ sold in the country. Procon-SP said that the charger is an "essential part" of the smartphone experience.

Really?!?! Rubbish!!!!

Dang! Does this mean that I can sue an auto manufacturer for not supplying me with gas for the life of my car? After all, gas is an essential part of the car experience.
 
Think that it's not one person checking international laws, I would think there is a team focused on each country (or at least group of countries) to check this laws and others. Also this one is not pretty obscure, just that no phone can be sold without a charger. Apple could just give a coupon for a charger or ask during the purchase
And people can't figure out why things can cost so much.
 
People who think this is crazy think about buying a TV without a cable. I have been with apple since the 90s, and it has become all about Apple, not the customer first. They had a recall for the 2016 Mac Book Pro; however,s is only for four years from the date of purchase.
 
People who are giving Apple **** for not including chargers with iPhones haven't thought this through. It does actually make sense. People who buy a new iPhone every year don't need a new charger every year if the charger stays the same. They just need the phone. It really would be a waste to give those people a new charger every year.

Another thing people aren't thinking through about this is that they feel ripped off for Apple not including the charger. But if Apple were to include the charger, they'd simply make the phone 50 bucks more expensive. You, the consumer, wouldn't be gaining anything for free from Apple including the charger. It's naive to believe otherwise. It makes more sense that people who need a charger just buy it separately and those who don't need it don't have to implicitly pay for it via a higher iPhone sale price.

Why is this such a big deal?
 
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I'm still a bit peeved that they didn't include a charger.
I had a ton of the USB-A chargers, but no USB-C chargers when I bought my last iPhone.
So yeah... it sucks that I have to go and buy one.
Apple certainly didn't lower the price of the phone once they started removing things like headphones and chargers.
 
I'm still a bit peeved that they didn't include a charger.
I had a ton of the USB-A chargers, but no USB-C chargers when I bought my last iPhone.
So yeah... it sucks that I have to go and buy one.
Apple certainly didn't lower the price of the phone once they started removing things like headphones and chargers.

You can just buy the charger. If the charger were included, Apple would simply make the iPhone a bit more expensive. They have a certain margin they want to hit and they're going to do that with or without the charger in the box.

It's a fallacy to think you wouldn't pay extra for the charger if it were included in the box.

You would pay extra for the charger no matter what, so you can just as well buy it separately.

People just need to include the charger price in the total price for buying an iPhone if they need it. It's as simple as that.
 
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