Apple Must Compensate Brazilian Customer Over $1,000 for Selling iPhone Without a Charger, Judge Rules

[sudo-sandwich]

Why is it so important the phone has a charger though? iPods never came with a charger, AirPods also don't come with a charger.

So you can buy the product and use it without needing other stuff unexpectedly. The way it is now, Apple sells those "unnecessary" chargers at a big markup in the same store. That's intentional.

This did happen to me last time. Bought an iPhone 12 mini, had to just rely on the full battery it came with till I got home, since the included cable was USB-C on the other end and nothing works with that. Wasn't going to buy the scam adaptor either.

Still I don't think this is a big enough deal to warrant a law, just something that bothers me a little.

 

[sudo-sandwich]

Freedom is about people being able to make choices and not be under control. That includes the freedom to not have powerful corporations exploit their power against the consumer

I can buy a charger from anyone besides Apple. I can also buy a competing product if I don't like Apple. It's not scary.

 

[sudo-sandwich]

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.

Apple sells the charger for $20. It probably only costs them $2 to make. When included, it probably increased the price of the phone by $0.50, rounded to $0 for simplicity. Costs aren't passed 100% onto consumers.

 

[lartola]

Just ridiculous. I cannot fathom how anyone can reasonably make the argument that every device manufacturer has to include a charger in the box for every device they sell forever.

Well…selling the iphone without a charger is basically the same as assuming that everyone who buys a new iphone is upgrading and therefore has an existing charger. Furthermore, the new iphones that come without a charger sell for the same price as the ones that did come with it before ($1000+), meaning that first time iphone owners are still being charged for the charger but no longer get it and have to pay for it again separately. And it’s not cheap: Apple’s original is about $30 for the cable and brick (even more if it’s the USB-C power brick and lightning to USB-C cable).

 

[Johns12]

I still don't understand these specious arguments that you just use the charger from your old phone. Does everyone who buys a new phone throw away the old one?

 

[QuarterSwede]

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.

My Fortune 15 company has an entire department for legal in other countries … Apple certainly has the same, the money, the bodies, and the know-how.

 

[deeddawg]

I still don't understand these specious arguments that you just use the charger from your old phone. Does everyone who buys a new phone throw away the old one?

Folks who trade their phones in typically keep cable and charger.

Many folks already have multiport chargers and lightning cables. Single port chargers are a waste of an outlet.

Not to mention that usb chargers and lightning cables are available at every gas station, bodega, dollar general, grocery store, etc.

Anyone finding themselves in a pinch put themselves there.

 

[visualseed]

As my post indicated, iPhone 13 has no shrinkwrap and neither do any iPhone/Mac accessories that I've bought such as chargers, adapters, power cables, etc. I don't believe my iPad Air 4 I purchased last summer (no longer have) had shrinkwrap either, but I couldn't swear to that. But the others I can. But some is better than none!

https://www.apple.com/environment/

Apple has a sheet on every shipping product that includes the material makeup of its packaging so we don't have to guess or use anecdotal examples. They plan to be complety plastic free in all their product packaging by
2025

 

[aParkerMusic]

I bought an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil in February and they were wrapped in plastic. And as far as I know all MacBook boxes are also wrapped in plastic as are the chargers included with devices. So what devices do they not wrap in plastic then?

You responded to a comment which included a link to an article discussing how Apple avoided 600MT of plastic waste by not using plastic wrapping on iPhones anymore….

 

[johnnytravels]

I still don't understand these specious arguments that you just use the charger from your old phone. Does everyone who buys a new phone throw away the old one?

Exactly what I was thinking…
Where do all the phones go? In landfills? Now that would be good for the environment…
Seriously, these environmental arguments coming from one of the largest manufacturers of yearly iterated consumer electronics is just a pile of b/s. If Apple really cared about the environment, they would donate all the profits from unbundling chargers and selling them separately to environmental organisations.
As it stands it is just a “headphone jack part 2” where Apple removes something from the product in order to sell accessories (in this case, plug in chargers but especially these super environmentally friendly Magsafe wireless chargers). At least in the case of the removed headphone jack, they included a substitute in the box for a while. But the general strategy is the same: remove something (which is already cost effective in itself), make people think about the feature that was previously taken for granted, then make them ponder the idea of buying something more premium that Apple of course suddenly offers (Airpods, Magsafe chargers), and make additional profit from those accessories.

 

[Johns12]

Folks who trade their phones in typically keep cable and charger.

Many folks already have multiport chargers and lightning cables. Single port chargers are a waste of an outlet.

Not to mention that usb chargers and lightning cables are available at every gas station, bodega, dollar general, grocery store, etc.

Anyone finding themselves in a pinch put themselves there.

Ok, I guess this is just a different use case than me. I have never gotten rid of a phone and not included the charger.

 

[aParkerMusic]

Given how the price didn't go down when they stopped including the charger, one can easily assume that putting it back in shouldn't raise the price any. Apple lost the argument when they didn't lower the cost any.

Please share the cost sheet you have access to so we can confirm

Cone on, I get it, but you don’t know their costs, they lowered the price of the adapters by 1/3, and..I dunno. We’re talking about $19 at this point. Again, I get it. But…this all seems overwrought. Wish you the best!

 

[aParkerMusic]

No, but it means you could sue the auto manufacturer for not supplying you with wheels

You can’t drive a car “out of the box” without wheels…but you CAN use a smartphone out of the box because 99% of the time they have some battery juice and you can USE IT. As intended. Eventually you’ll need to charge it, though lol. I get it. But the wheels analogy doesn’t work. But please don’t bring me back to the analogy wars from earlier in the thread lol. Wishing you the best!

 

[aParkerMusic]

So you can buy the product and use it without needing other stuff unexpectedly. The way it is now, Apple sells those "unnecessary" chargers at a big markup in the same store. That's intentional.

This did happen to me last time. Bought an iPhone 12 mini, had to just rely on the full battery it came with till I got home, since the included cable was USB-C on the other end and nothing works with that. Wasn't going to buy the scam adaptor either.

Still I don't think this is a big enough deal to warrant a law, just something that bothers me a little.

Nothing works with that??
Scam adapter??
is the phone dead to this day??



I’m genuinely curious. I’m not sure from your message. Wishing you the best!

 

[I7guy]

Yeah, a big $6.5B impact because the costs were NOT passed to customers like you keep lying about.

The cost of increased production of new tech was offset by reduced packaging and lack of a charger. Apple held the line on the entry level model. Not difficult at all.

 

[I7guy]

Freedom is about people being able to make choices and not be under control. That includes the freedom to not have powerful corporations exploit their power against the consumer

Not discussing electric companies, banks , health care facilities etc, where your life and finances are literally on the line.

If one doesn’t like that a charger isn’t included there are plenty of android, some Linux cell phones to choose from.

 

[I7guy]

Watching You Tube videos show the new M1 MB Pro machine boxes are wrapped in plastic still. Apple still use plastic to wrap the computer boxes. They still have a long long way to go before they can claim any high stance in the use of plastics.

And it adds credence to the idea they don't include a charger in the boxes of new iPhones for the environment as hypocritical.

I disagree although no one will change anyones mind. Getting to the point of being green as possible, carbon neutral as possible, environmentally friendly as possible is not a snap of the fingers. It’s an incremental process.

 

[deeddawg]

Ok, I guess this is just a different use case than me. I have never gotten rid of a phone and not included the charger.

Yep. We all have various different situations.

I’ve not used the included charger or cable for years. I have Qi pads and lightning cables at the spots in the house I set my phone down and thus keep it charged. With a wife, adult kids who visit, iPad, etc, single port chargers are a waste of time and outlets when one outlet can easily handle four devices.

I also tend to keep my phone for three years or so, and thus the trade in promos tend to be the best deal, Mx they don’t ask for charger or cable. Someone selling the,phone to a private party every year would include charger and cable.

 

[960design]

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.

Having my lawyer contact Tesla now...

Tesla is no longer including the mobile charging connector with new vehicles

Tesla has opted to stop including the 110v/220v mobile charging connector with vehicles.

www.notateslaapp.com

 

[Sorig]

Wish no country allowed this disgusting practice of not including a charger in the box.

 

[darngooddesign]

Watching You Tube videos show the new M1 MB Pro machine boxes are wrapped in plastic still. Apple still use plastic to wrap the computer boxes. They still have a long long way to go before they can claim any high stance in the use of plastics.

And it adds credence to the idea they don't include a charger in the boxes of new iPhones for the environment as hypocritical.

I didn't watch a video, I bought a Mac and mine wasn't wrapped in plastic.

 

[Bandaman]

Watching You Tube videos show the new M1 MB Pro machine boxes are wrapped in plastic still. Apple still use plastic to wrap the computer boxes. They still have a long long way to go before they can claim any high stance in the use of plastics.

And it adds credence to the idea they don't include a charger in the boxes of new iPhones for the environment as hypocritical.

There's literally no videos of an M1 MacBook Pro where the box is wrapped in plastic. They don't do that anymore. My M1 MacBook Air didn't have plastic either. They have the plastic film on the devices themselves and that's it.

 

[AlexJaye]

Just ridiculous. I cannot fathom how anyone can reasonably make the argument that every device manufacturer has to include a charger in the box for every device they sell forever.

Some people will defend companies treating them like crap no matter how sad it gets. Apple is being CHEAP.

 

[lartola]

Apple prices in Brazil are absolutely ridiculous. iPhone13 there costs like 10 minimum wages. I think it’s reasonable for people there to get all the accessories because of the price tags that are applied there.

I think it’s reasonable for people everywhere, considering that whatever price tag Apple put on its products originally included the cost of the charger and was not updated accordingly when Apple decided to stop including a charger in the box (i.e., they continue charging the same price as before, which included the cost of the charger, but just no longer put the charger in the box).

 

[lartola]

If one doesn’t like that a charger isn’t included there are plenty of android, some Linux cell phones to choose from.

The problem is that Apple’s practices often set an example that others follow. Other manufacturers are already doing the same Apple did and selling phones without a charger.