Brazil Fines Apple $19 Million for Continuing to Sell iPhones Without Charger

[I7guy]

well thats the point, why do i even need to do that in the first place lol

Because apple stopped including chargers (and earpods). So with a new iphone purchase, you have a choice. You use what you have, buy a cable or buy a charger. Either way my guess is that Apple has done that math and concluded there are a preponderance of chargers that can support new iphones across it's billions of users. So you're left with a choice, but it seems that in your case, since you need something a cheap cable can be picked up from virtually anywhere, except if you live in a remote island.

 

[hans1972]

Except a charger isn't an "accessory", its REQUIRED to use the device. Imagine buying a TV but Samsung didn't include a power cable because... well, you probably have one. It's beyond upsetting. If Apple truly cared about the green aspect of it instead of the financial aspect, they would've offered the charger for free to people who purchased iphones instead of charging for it.

I'm a fan of Apple's products and own far too many of them, but that move was just maddening.

Why would it be a problem? I don't care.

And a lot of TVs are useless unless you have an HDMI cable. My Samsung TV didn't come with a HDMI cable.

 

[hans1972]

I never understood why Apple didn’t just say anyone who wants a 20w could just ask at time of purchase and would be given one.

Because then the carbon footprint of producing and transporting it would be on Apple.

 

[jnngr]

As a non-American, I find your post bizarre. The only thing McDonalds charges extra for here is extra meat. You're actually bragging about how badly consumers are abused in your country and then criticising a country that has laws which actually protect consumer interests at the expense of corporate profits.

Why do you care so much about billionaires profits? You say you hate that they charge 50 cents for extra lettuce. In most of the world, they don't. And yet you want to criticise the rest of the world for not allowing it.

Besides which, your post entirely misses the point. A McChicken is perfectly usable for its intended purpose without extra tomatoes. An iPhone is not usable for its intended purpose without a charger.

So basically you are saying you don’t already have at least one charger because you never ever bought an iPhone or iPad and you don’t have a Mac and you don’t prefer wireless charging.

 

[hans1972]

If you are selling an electrical product, it should come with means to power it up and keep it working.
Far as I know all laptops come with a charger. Even Apples own earbuds do.
Even an electric toothbrush and a razor do.

I got an USB lamp as a gift. It didn't come with a charger.
The same with my Bluetooth headset.

Also the Apple TV remote control didn't come with a charger either. Not even the Magic Mouse.

 

[hans1972]

My favorite part about all this environmental BS is that they claim everyone already has a charger, yet they include a usb-c to lightning cable, which does not even work with those chargers and thus creates even more waste. If they really cared, they wouldn’t include a cable either (not saying they should do it)

Do you know anyone who doesn't have any USB charger in their household?

 

[ilikewhey]

Because apple stopped including chargers (and earpods). So with a new iphone purchase, you have a choice. You use what you have, buy a cable or buy a charger. Either way my guess is that Apple has done that math and concluded there are a preponderance of chargers that can support new iphones across it's billions of users. So you're left with a choice, but it seems that in your case, since you need something a cheap cable can be picked up from virtually anywhere, except if you live in a remote island.

doesn't mean its a good choice, i'm lucky that my usb hub for my mbp has the necessary peripheral. but for millions of others who doesn't have my setup its a bother. imagine a family of 4 getting their first iphone or something, they would need to spend 100 bucks on quality chargers because apple claim its better for the environment, which is a total bs argument from apple since they sell millions of disposable airpods every year.

 

[jnngr]

I think it’s silly for consumers to be ok with their vendors eliminating goods and services than maintaining and even increasing the price of what is being sold. They should knock 30 bucks off the cost of the phones for not including a charger.

Because every iPhone since 2007 is basically the same price? It shouldn’t be too difficult to understand how silly your argument actually is.

 

[ilikewhey]

I got an USB lamp as a gift. It didn't come with a charger.
The same with my Bluetooth headset.

Also the Apple TV remote control didn't come with a charger either. Not even the Magic Mouse.

i also bought a usb lamp last month, it did came with a charger. the same with my sennhaiser headphones.

 

[hans1972]

When you buy any portable electronic device you should be given everything you need to charge that device on its own. I have to agree with Brazil, it is an incomplete product and Apple should start putting the adapters back into the packaging.

The EU is of the opposite opinion. They have made it illegal to not offer a phone without a charger.

 

[turbineseaplane]

So basically you are saying you don’t already have at least one charger because you never ever bought an iPhone or iPad and you don’t have a Mac and you don’t prefer wireless charging.

Can't speak to that other person, but for myself, I just got a 13 mini and **very much** would have appreciated a power brick in the box. It came with a lightning to USB-C cable, and I didn't have a brick that could take USB-C and had to purchase one.

 

[compwiz1202]

You mean a place that doesn’t exist outside of the USA 🤷‍♂️

Even in USA they're all texas or west coast. need some in the northeast

 

[contacos]

Do you know anyone who doesn't have any USB charger in their household?

Not USB-C unless you bought a recent iPad

 

[hans1972]

i also bought a usb lamp last month, it did came with a charger. the same with my sennhaiser headphones.

My lamp only came with a long(!) USB-A to micro-USB cable! My Sony WH-1000X M3 came without any charger which is fine because it is charged with my MacBook charger.

 

[svenmany]

This is all about consumer expectation and not consumer need.

My guess is that most people don't need a charger but do need longer charging cables. At this point Brazil feels people expect short, inadequate cables and a power brick. If companies had always offered the bricks as separately charged items, it wouldn't be an issue now.

As another example, I hate it when a company includes an ac adapter AND a battery. So much waste. But heck, it's advertised as usable with a battery, so the company had better supply one. At this point, people expect a battery.

Buy what you need. Throwing e-waste at the consumer has to stop. Our priorities are all wrong if that's not the top one in this discussion.

Apple must remove their greed from the equation so we can focus on the real problem. That's why I like the idea of including a voucher for a free charger. The user has to make an effort to request the charger and consciously ignore the environmental plea. Apple saves money on the people who forgo the charger and spends money on extra shipping to deliver the charger after the fact.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I just don't want to hear about "e-waste" in regards to Apple

They don't even need all these phone SKUs (creating plenty of waste).

Add an SD card slot and sell one Mini/Normal/Pro phone ... folks can then add storage as they need.
Don't even need the colors -- just about everyone shoves them in a case anyhow.

Do some real work on making a smaller footprint here..
Then...we can talk about "environmental issues" Apple

 

[darngooddesign]

So basically you are saying you don’t already have at least one charger because you never ever bought an iPhone or iPad and you don’t have a Mac and you don’t prefer wireless charging.

Or the last iPhone you had came with a USB-A charger.

 

[svenmany]

My lamp only came with a long(!) USB-A to micro-USB cable! My Sony WH-1000X M3 came without any charger which is fine because it is charged with my MacBook charger.

I bought a flashlight and some flashing safety belts for nighttime walks. None came with the charger, only the cables. I have a lot of items like that.

 

[jnngr]

doesn't mean its a good choice, i'm lucky that my usb hub for my mbp has the necessary peripheral. but for millions of others who doesn't have my setup its a bother. imagine a family of 4 getting their first iphone or something, they would need to spend 100 bucks on quality chargers because apple claim its better for the environment, which is a total bs argument from apple since they sell millions of disposable airpods every year.

Let’s take your totally reasonable example. If they buy all buy a new iPhone because they just landed on planet Earth a charger will cost them less than 5 percent each and once only (1st buy).

And here is the AirPods Recycling Program: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/airpods/dev4b98b4784/web

 

[svenmany]

I bought a flashlight and some flashing safety belts for nighttime walks. None came with the charger, only the cables. I have a lot of items like that.

And the mouse I'm using now - just the cable

 

[hans1972]

Or, they can just give an option to include a charger at no added cost.

If it is truly for environmental reasons, and not padding the margin, then why should they pay extra?

So that fewer customers takes this as an option.

The main purpose is to produce less Apple charges, and if they have to produce one, the profit margin has to be so high so they can pay for offsetting the carbon footprint etc.

 

[jnngr]

Or the last iPhone you had came with a USB-A charger.

And you lost the cable and don’t have an adapter. In your world it must be very complicated. I pity you.

 

[hans1972]

My suggestion doesn't necessarily need to be just for Brazil.

Apple claims that the only reason for not including the charger is for environmental concerns.

If this was the case, Apple could just give an option of adding a free charger to people that want one.

If Apple did this from the start, then this ruling in Brazil may never of happened.

What is best for the environment? Not producing anything. Would your solution result in more or less Apple chargers being produced and transported?

 

[ilikewhey]

This is all about consumer expectation and not consumer need.

My guess is that most people don't need a charger but do need longer charging cables. At this point Brazil feels people expect short, inadequate cables and a power brick. If companies had always offered the bricks as separately charged items, it wouldn't be an issue now.

As another example, I hate it when a company includes an ac adapter AND a battery. So much waste. But heck, it's advertised as usable with a battery, so the company had better supply one. At this point, people expect a battery.

Buy what you need. Throwing e-waste at the consumer has to stop. Our priorities are all wrong if that's not the top one in this discussion.

Apple must remove their greed from the equation so we can focus on the real problem. That's why I like the idea of including a voucher for a free charger. The user has to make an effort to request the charger and consciously ignore the environmental plea. Apple saves money on the people who forgo the charger and spends money on extra shipping to deliver the charger after the fact.

but thats the problem, they do when apple throw in a cable that isn't compatible with their old usba brick charger. therefore making all these old chargers obsolete. i have the 5w charger collection started from iphone 5 and unless i have the appropriate cable, they are useless and just sitting in my drawer.

 

[darngooddesign]

And you lost the cable and don’t have an adapter. In your world it must be very complicated. I pity you.

When I sold my iPhone the new owner got the charger and cable.

So now I need a charger.