Apple Survey Asks iPhone Users What They Do With Old Power Adapters

[SocialKonstruct]

Apple is definitely nickle and diming us. And honestly they really need to get rid of the Lightning connector in favor of the USB-C option. Universal standards.
If they go USB-C then I can use my third-party adapters.

 

[ericwn]

How can do many people think this will be the future/norm? I use my phone plugged in after dying quite frequently. Unless they make something that clips around the device or a very strong magnet. Not such a great idea for people with defibrillators. And what’s the benefit of pushing for a portless iPhone? Better waterproofing? Does the majority use their phones in ways that current waterproofing is not enough? Maybe I’m lacking education on what this could mean for the future of iPhone. It’s not even that I’m totally opposed, I just don’t get it.

Wireless charging is already pretty common in many cases. There are tons of dedicated charging nightstands available for years that charge iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods. Apple already claimed to be working on AirPower but never released it.
Cars feature wireless charging phone holders and trays now.

Mainstream audio is wireless. Syncing with cloud services via wifi has always been wireless. Of course Apple is exploring how this trend can be further used to advance profits.

 

[CarlJ]

Personally, I have no problem with Apple excluding the charger from the box, so long as the price of the iPhone is discounted by the retail price of the charger.

I’d rather they spend what they save by not including the charger and headphones, improving some other part of the phone. People here are getting outraged over +/- $10 or so, on a $1,000 phone.

if it gets to September and we hear, “we left out the charger and the headphones, and lowered the price by $20, and there’s this other feature that would have been really cool, but we left it out to save you that $20”, that would be annoying. I’d rather have the very best phone they can build for that price point, I don’t need still yet more charging bricks and earpods to leave unused in the original box.

 

[chengengaun]

Why not Apple offer charger as a no-cost option? Users can opt for a charger if they need one. Admittedly this will increase complexity and cost (and easy for me to suggest), but at the scale Apple sells iPhones they can probably manage it.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Why not Apple offer charger as a no-cost option? Users can opt for a charger if they need one. Admittedly this will increase complexity and cost (and easy for me to suggest), but at the scale Apple sells iPhones they can probably manage it.

Agreed, this seems so simple to implement and I'd gladly check the box: "I don't need a charger" with a thank you message from Apple and a nice little : "You helped the environment!" sticker in a smaller box, LOL.

 

[Snowdragon]

Okay so Apple is worth Billions (with a “B”) because of users, would it be so hard for them to include a power adapter in the box ? I still pack mine every where I go. Plus keep the cable a standard USB, I don’t need to pack 50 different adapters so that I can plug my iPhone X where ever I’m at.

Q: How does Apple feed the sheep ?

A: They bring out another iPhone !

 

[BigMcGuire]

Okay so Apple is worth Billions (with a “B”) because of users, would it be so hard for them to include a power adapter in the box ? I still pack mine every where I go. Plus keep the cable a standard USB, I don’t need to pack 50 different adapters so that I can plug my iPhone X where ever I’m at.

Q: How does Apple feed the sheep ?

A: They bring out another iPhone !

baaaaaaa. Baaaaaaaa. another iPhone!!!! BAAAAAAA!

HEY! I resemble that remark!

 

[The Game 161]

Okay so Apple is worth Billions (with a “B”) because of users, would it be so hard for them to include a power adapter in the box ? I still pack mine every where I go. Plus keep the cable a standard USB, I don’t need to pack 50 different adapters so that I can plug my iPhone X where ever I’m at.

Q: How does Apple feed the sheep ?

A: They bring out another iPhone !

Newsflash there are android sheep as well. People who love a brand will buy it and it’s because of what the product offers.

nobody buys iPhones year after year for the sake of it...they buy it because they love the product.

 

[TwoBytes]

Apple Keynote September
Tim: "we surveyed all of you can you said you don't need a power adapter so we're not giving you one like you asked! Yes, the data doesn't lie. If you want to buy one it will be 99.99 from your local apple store..isn't that fantastic?"

 

[Mimiron]

Buy a new one, because the 5W charger sucks donkey balls. I don’t have time to charge my phone for 2hrs and 30 mins. About time they included a more powerful charger in the box. Luckily, I charge mine with the MBP brick and I also happen to have an iPad charger, so ample of alternatives to charge it, sucks that they do not want to include a charger with their iPhones for people that do not have more Apple products.

 

[dukebound85]

Well can’t we all agree that the world doesn’t need another 1.5 billion smartphone chargers every year?

I'll one up you...

Well can’t we all agree that the world doesn’t need another 1.5 billion smartphones every year?

if not, then being able to provide a way to charge a device is necessary

 

[rwxx]

You have the option of wireless charging. After having yet another iPhone with broken Lightning port that’s what I did.

True, and I do have a wireless charger at home. However, it is MUCH slower and I still need to use Lightning when I travel (unless I carry the wireless charger too, which I don't). I also need to use a Lightning cable for connecting to my car stereo.

I appreciate that wireless charging is an option, but that doesn't excuse the abysmal Lightning cable build quality. I know that making everything thin and minimalist is a cornerstone of Apple's brand identity today, but cables shouldn't be so delicate.
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I'll one up you...

Well can’t we all agree that the world doesn’t need another 1.5 billion smartphones every year?

I agree! I can't wrap my mind around yearly upgrades. There's a huge environmental toll and new features year over year barely amount to anything now. A little faster. A slightly better camera and/or screen. Yawn. Personally I find the smartphone market utterly boring at this point. Sure, smart phones are indispensable, but the entire market has plateaued, offering only minor incremental upgrades year over year. Yearly device upgrades now seem either like an addiction or a quest for status. No one needs a new phone every year.

 

[BuffaloTF]

So what does apple do when you return the iPhone without the charger on the iPhone upgrade program?

Applauds you? You only send the phone back. That's the only thing of monetary value in a sale or trade.

 

[ninecows]

...If you can't afford $20 for a new charger you should be buying a cheap android phone

I don’t know about you, but just because I can afford an iPhone doesn’t mean that I happily throw 20$ bills around in the street (and from where I’m sitting it looks more like 30$ for just the brick). That argument is simply stupid. Do you also ask in grocery if they would allow you to pay like 5% more since you can afford it?

The androids I’ve seen in the hands of tech-amateurs were filled with garbage. I don’t want to spend my time ensuring that all the tick marks are correct to secure my privacy and data. Neither do I want adds that are allowed to block the entire screen even without the associated app being open.

Cheap 3rd party chargers are of questionable quality. Some are excellent and others will cause a fire or brick your phone. But you can’t tell from looking at it. And how will Apple handle warranty if you use a 3rd party charger?

 

[rweed]

The box would be about half as thick without the power adapter. It would prevent hundreds of tons of paper and plastic waste every year, save on costs, allow them to ship more at a time too. It’s a win all around.

Except for people who buy a phone and expect that everything they need is in the box. WTF am I going to do with just a USB-C cable? I don't have any devices with that port.
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Apple Keynote September
Tim: "we surveyed all of you can you said you don't need a power adapter so we're not giving you one like you asked! Yes, the data doesn't lie. If you want to buy one it will be 99.99 from your local apple store..isn't that fantastic?"

Crowd cheers! Also, keep buying Intel Macs! They won't be obsolete for a few years and then you can rebuy ARM Macs and maybe some of your software will still be supported! How great is that?

 

[rweed]

yes, apple phone chargers are single handedly contributing to global warming. give me a break.

Reminds me of the Bill Burr bit about his obsolete 30-pin iPod cable wrapped around a dolphins neck.

 

[Infinite Vortex]

What’s improper about a 5W charger? My iPhone is fully charged when I wake up in the morning; actually I think it hits 100% before midnight!

Simple… every single iOS device that Apple sells in 2020 can take advantage of wattage greater than 5W. It's something they should not be making for anything in their product lineup. It would be a very different conversation if Apple chose to unify their chargers for the iPhones and iPad.

Not unifying on the 18W (or similar) charger the choice is simply financial, which as a business they have a right to do that, but then they shouldn't go on about environmental credentials. If Apple made as many 18W chargers as they do 5W chargers the cost to them would probably be exactly the same.

 

[ian87w]

Okay this is a sleezy way to justify something. Since they are only asking existing iPhone users, obviously they would expect a favorable response to justify removal of the charger.

Why not open the survey to everyone? Is Apple only selling new iPhones to existing users?

 

[urnotl33t]

(unless you’re just some anti-Apple troll). You don’t need yet another charger every time you buy a phone. Come on.

Don’t misunderestimate the power of the Dark Trolls.

 

[57004]

Those were the adapters I swapped out first! When travelling I want the fastest charge I can get and the 5W adapter is last on that list. The only thing going for it is the size. I use a 40W USB-C charger for a Samsung Galaxy Note 10 else the 60W MBP charger. My 5W adapters usually end up in places like beside the bed as a night time, during sleep, charge isn't time sensitive.

Yep there's still a good place for them. It's better for the battery too, to do a slow charge when you can. I also use them for the many raspberry pi's I have around the house. Apple and Samsung 1st party chargers are much better and safer than the generic Chinese ones you can buy.

I don't like them dropping the charger from the box. Sure, I have many, but right now chargers are definitely in a state of flux. Every year phones have higher charging speeds and thus need a new charger. First regular 5W/0.5A, then we got the various resistors in the lines to signify higher capability (leading to the specialised Samsung/Apple chargers), then Qualcomm QC 2.0, 3.0, and now USB-PD being the favourite of the month. And high-power Qi wireless charging is becoming more common which also needs even more power as it's not as efficient. So either way to get the most out of our phones we have to buy a new charger regularly anyway. Just stick it in the box for an almost $1000 product. If you really care about the environment, offer a chargerless version for cheaper.
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I certainly do not include my charger when I sell a Phone (usually with Swaps). Maybe it will never happen, but if cost of the charger was reduced from the overall price and was made as an optional accessory like when buying a laptop, this could be very good for the environment. Of course if Apple simply holds the price the same (way more likely), I can see how frustrating this would be.

Since when is a laptop adapter optional? I haven't seen this at all (though I only buy Macs new through work). But even there I'd want it. I only change laptops every 4-5 years and every time there's been a new standard. I've had the PowerBook with its weird round plug, I've had the magsafe (which I still miss), I've had the minimagsafe and now USB-C. And those are even nicer to have in the box as they can charge more than just a Mac at really high power.

 

[cosmichobo]

In my desk draw I have 3 "spare" Apple i-device power bricks. But in reality, the main reason for this is because the power cords keep dying (blackened pin4/pin5, or wires being exposed at the lightning end). If not for this problem, I'd be using more of them to better handle the quantity of devices in my house that need charging.

Removing the power brick may save Apple money, and maybe there is a reasonable % of them that do not get used... but it adds a roadblock to first timers. I guess Apple's mostly now looking at keeping its existing customers.

 

[Tech198]

Like anything you would do away with in the box,,, its just to get you back in get more money..

Apple did the same with dongles.... they knew people needed more than one. and as the result, people buy more dongles now.

A laptop charger not being in the box, is not optional, it's required, but i would argue an iphone charger *may* be... You can charge via USB/USB-C. I think that's the argument Apple would say.

 

[planteater]

The box would be about half as thick without the power adapter. It would prevent hundreds of tons of paper and plastic waste every year, save on costs, allow them to ship more at a time too. It’s a win all around.

It’s a win all around for Apple, no doubt. Not necessarily for the customer if they need a charger. Those cost savings for Apple are unlikely to be passed on.

 

[BigMcGuire]

What I find interesting is that everyone is assuming that this has already happened. OK, not everyone, but a lot of people are. I've been an Apple user since the 4s and ... I'd be surprised if Apple pulled this.

 

[Abazigal]

Okay this is a sleezy way to justify something. Since they are only asking existing iPhone users, obviously they would expect a favorable response to justify removal of the charger.

Why not open the survey to everyone? Is Apple only selling new iPhones to existing users?

It stand to reason that Apple would only have the contact details of existing users, and thus would only be able to reach out to them. And it just so happens that the majority of users with an Apple ID are iPhone users.

There’s no conspiracy here. If anything, it just reinforces one earlier point that many iPhone customers are repeat customers who already have a plethora of chargers from past purchases and don’t really need the new one which comes with an upgrade.

Speaking of which, why don’t I get a survey?