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Apple Ordered to Stop Selling iPhones Without Charger in Brazil [Updated]
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True, I guess a better example is a non-techy type person goes and buys an iPhone and when they get it home they can't charge it. Hopefully someone will tell them they need the charger, but if they just buy it from a physical store and no one tells them, they cannot charge their phone. There's literally no excuse for that. How anyone can defend that is mind blowing.
Wouldn’t non-techy person just use their existing charger?
The environment isn't being helped, but Apple's profit margins sure are
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Have you got access to an independent study that concludes that?
There is no physical store that would sell one an iPhone and not try to upsell a charger, case, etc. Someone buying a first smart today is also going to want help setting it up and all those questions would be answered then.
Finally, your argument is that we should all pay more and generate lots more waste because there might be some new user who might not find out that the new phone did not have a charger brick and not have any other USB device with which to charge it. Seems like a stretch.
Have you got access to an independent study that Apple have saved the planet ?
No I haven’t but that’s why I’m asking that poster to point us to the study that concludes their assertion.
And the number of people who find themselves in such a scenario is likely in the overwhelming minority.
Now, is there someone out of the hundreds of millions of people potentially buying a new iPhone for the year 2022 who might genuinely not realise that the iPhone comes without a charger, goes home without buying one, also happens to not have a single charger at home that he could use (don't forget that the iPhone usually comes with at least 70+% battery life out of the box, so plenty of time to still set up your phone and then go out to buy one before the end of the day), and for some reason cannot then go out again to buy one, and is instead forced to sit at home and watch helplessly as his iPhone battery slowly dips to 0%?
Possible.
Do they form a significant number of new iPhone users?
I highly doubt it. And you can't really use this 1 or 2 edge cases to justify Apple not doing something that impacts hundreds of millions of sales units every year.
I have seen this sort of argument play out all the time, especially when it comes to bashing Apple. They take an extreme position, make the person in question seem like a complete and utter moron, and then try to make it sound like it's somehow representative of the vast majority of Apple users. Take a step back, apply some common sense, and you will realise just how ludicrous all these "what if" scenarios really are.
If you want to hate on Apple, then at least hate right, and come up with a legitimate issue that Apple users are genuinely facing because of Apple's decision to remove the charger. And the truth is - you can't, because Apple users are not the drooling idiots you are attempting to paint us as. Apple is not perfect, but they are not run by idiots. They timed the removal of the charger to coincide with the knowledge that the majority of their use base already have chargers or possess the means to acquire one readily, and the inconvenience we face is in fact pretty minimal.
Doing the right thing for the environment nearly always requires more effort and expense.
Some people don’t care about the environment. They would rather tonnes of additional waste is created so that THEY get a charger in the box. Typical Trumpian/American/individualistic thinking.
So deep down you love it that there is no charger supplied with new iPhones? You applaud the stance Apple are taking, you believe it to be 100% due to their trying to make the planet a better place and you don't bemoan Apple making an increased profit due to this policy? You continue to defend it to the death so I am assuming that you revel in the lack of a charger....
If Apple cared two hoots about the environment and waste they would make iPhone batteries easily user-replaceable and their availability widespread. They would do the same for iPads and they would make MacBooks have user-replaceable RAM, batteries and SSDs etc. Yet they don't. There are people in every forum stating that they are 'upgrading' because their iPhone battery is shot, their iPad battery is shot, their Mac battery is shot or the available RAM in their Mac is no longer sufficient and it can't be upgraded etc.
There are millions of expensive and capable devices being tossed into landfill because a $10 battery can't be replaced. Why can it not be replaced so easily? The environment's best friend, Apple, chose to design the device with built-in obsolescence so that once the battery life reduces to a certain point people will be forced into buying new devices.
Batteries are only built-in and difficult to replace due to waterproofing? Haha. You can replace the SIM so why can the battery not have a cover the same as the SIM tray? I have a waterproof camera and can replace the battery! There is a battery compartment that has a rubber seal on it. The camera is also way more waterproof than an iPhone! There is simply no excuse for not having a simple drop-in battery.
Oh yeah, you'll say that batteries can be replaced and that Apple advertise this facility. Yes they can but it is expensive and people are brainwashed into thinking that their devices are no good a few years down the line. Apple 'updates' will probably have slowed their devices down to a crawl by this point. £70 for a battery replacement?? On a device worth less than £300 by the time you think about having it done the costs begin to scupper the deal. It's a £10 battery folks! Oh and I know that Samsung, SONY etc etc are just as bad. The whole industry is in on this. I understand. Profit. Gotcha. Just don't dare try and tell me that it's to save the planet.
Why would they need to get rid of the device it it needs a new battery? Why don’t they just get the battery replaced?
I don’t think I quite agree with your point that because Apple doesn’t allow you to upgrade the RAM or SSD in their laptops means that they should also include a charger in the box. It’s better that Apple take SOME action rather than no action, even if it is an action that benefits them financially too.
Plus I think you are confusing indifference with support. I suspect most iPhone buyers are indifferent about there not being a charging brick included.
It proves that they don't care about the longevity of their devices and thus the environment. They churn these devices out by the tens of millions and don't future-proof them as best they can. On the contrary, they all have built-in obsolescence.
I actually think Apple probably does better in that regard than nearly every other device manufacturer in terms of supporting their devices for many years. We should absolutely expect Apple to do more, but we also need to demand other manufacturers to at least catch up to where Apple currently is.
I am not against it for the reasons I have categorically stated numerous times.
1) I don’t think anyone can deny with a straight face that there is zero environment benefit to this, given the scale at which Apple operates. We are looking at a lot less e-waste generated, as well as a lower carbon footprint from Apple requiring fewer shipments to transport their iPhones around the world.
Whether this is Apple’s primary objective or not is immaterial. A benefit is a benefit, and I am willing to meet Apple in the middle on this.
2) I believe most people already do have existing chargers they can use. It’s still a net benefit even when you factor in the other users who have to buy new chargers.
3) I don’t deny that there is a profit motive to this, and so what? The issue isn’t that Apple isn’t doing it for the money, it’s that this is the only angle you all ever talk about, while refusing to acknowledge the other points, and coming up with all these ridiculous edge cases that just turns this forum into one giant “Apple is getting too greedy!” Echo chamber.
Very well said and agreed entirely.
Sadly there will be no changing of minds happening as people these days simply double down on their own existing beliefs.
Name an electronic device that doesn’t have built-in obsolescence? One that can be expected to be used for 30 years or more?
There's a big difference between chucking a perfectly serviceable phone in the trash because the $10 inbuilt battery has died and producing a device that lasts 30 years.
I understand and am forced to accept the built-in obsolescence method of manufacturing but I won't then have those same companies telling me that they're stopping providing chargers in order to protect the planet. They're reducing costs and increasing profits under the guise of helping the planet. Classic!
You don’t need to Chuck your phone in the bin if the battery has died. You can get replacements fitted.
Who cares if Apple are reducing costs and increasing profits? Surely the point is to reduce their environmental impact?
The fact is that most people do not get new batteries fitted. They get a new phone. If battery replacement was easier and cheaper then they wouldn't necessarily do that would they. Anyway, I've said the same thing enough times now. I don't enjoy giving companies more money and receiving less under the scam of saving the planet.
I’m 100% sure that if it were easier to replace the battery yourself more people would do it. But if a user knowingly chucks a phone in the bin because they can’t be bothered to get the battery replaced, that’s on the user, not Apple.
And how do you know this? You think there are literally ONE or TWO cases out of hundreds of millions of iPhone sales where the person didn't know the iPhone didn't come with a charger? You need to provide some evidence of that claim because it is extraordinary.
Lol talk about a strawman. Saying "people expect their $1000 cell phone to come with a charger" is not at all "Apple users are drooling idiots." I don't want to hate on Apple, I love Apple products and just ordered a watch and an iPhone 14. But I also realize that they should include a friggin charger with their products. I can support the company and still criticize specific actions. To not be able to find fault in actions of a person or company they like makes one unreasonable.
Again - I never said they were. I think they removed the charger to save money and disguise it as an environmental action - plain and simple.
The thing is - this argument is pointless and I'm going to stop replying because neither of us KNOW the facts. Unless you have some kind of source, neither of us KNOW how many people are actually inconvenienced. Unless you can read minds or were in executive level internal Apple meetings, neither of us KNOW the motivations of Apple in getting rid of the charger. We are both just giving our opinions and neither of us are "correct."
This is a strawman. At no time did I argue that Apple should charge more for a charger. My argument is a cell phone should come with a charger, full stop. In this case, Apple should give an iPhone purchaser the option to receive one charger FOR FREE with their purchase if they want it WITHOUT raising prices on anything.
The number of people who know the iPhone doesn’t come with a charger will be lower than the number of people who need to buy a charger for their new iPhone. They are two different things.
It’s really irrelevant for what reasons Apple made the move as long as the desired effect was achieved.
But we will need an independent study to analyse the environmental impact of this change.
This is assuming they have an existing charger. My argument is that not everyone has an existing charger and that Apple should supple the ability to charge a $1000 phone without any additional purchase.