French iPhone Boxes Come Packed in an Outer Box With Separate EarPods

[Scipster]

Why exactly do the French need this?
Is France not on Earth too?

It's bad enough that boomers don't care about environmental health, but whole countries too?

There's quite a bit of research to suggest that RFR may have adverse health effects on young children:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6701402/

The problem is, it can take many years for the consequences of such exposure to manifest itself into tumors (similar to sun-tanning in your 20s, and having melanoma in your 60s)

The theory and observed evidence suggests that exposure to RFR emitting devices, such as smartphones, so close to a developing brain can lead to higher levels of tissue damage than in adult human beings. The reason for this is that the skull structure is not as thick or as rippled (providing some resistance to RFR) and that the smaller diameter of the brain leads to deeper penetration effecting more sensitive areas of the brain. Using headphones helps to mitigate this risk by removing the phone away from the ear/brain.

So in short, they're doing it to protect future generations of children, which I suppose is a good thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about the environment, but there are other ways to balance the health of the environment with the health of the population.

Maybe revert to the old packaging rather than use an even bulkier box. Just a thought.

 

[Krakenn]

Interesting. I think that I want to live in France now.

I think that the prices are really more interesting in other countries :
in france :
iPhone 12 64 Gb : 909 € (1 078 US $) --> 909 $ in USA
iphone 12 Pro 128 Gb : 1 159 € (1375 US $) --> 1159 $ in USA

 

[Scipster]

"French law demands that manufacturers provide a hands-free accessory with smartphones due to concerns about the effect of electromagnetic waves on the brains."
Is there real data based objective science that is driving this?
Or the French bureaucrats just being a PIA?

Yes, there's some research on the matter which points towards adverse effects on children/developing brains, but much more research is need. The issue is that ubiquitious handheld RFR technology is still so new that not all of its health effects have been adequately measured. At this point, France's position is purely precautionary. Keep in mind, there was some science to suggest that tobacco use lead to lung cancer as early as the 1910s. It wasn't until the 1950/60s when this science became widely accepted. So there's always a delay between the market and the science.

 

[Bazooka-joe]

So if next years iphone has no port, does that mean that the French will receive a free set of AirPods with their phones?

 

[hsotnicam8002]

Maybe a small portion of camembert would have been appropriate too?

 

[ghanwani]

Maybe they will make a Russian doll version comes with the French box in a 3rd box that includes the charging brick. Any ideas for what the 4th, 5th, 6th, & 7th boxes can include?

 

[Scipster]

Still wonder why they don't offer a smaller package. Surely going back to the old packaging would be less waste than the larger box? Does anyone have the measurements? Just curious!

 

[Murkrage]

What!?! Keeping any battery powered device plugged in constantly actually degrades a lithium/ion batter.

In fact, if you want to prolong the useful life of you battery, keep you device between 80% and 20%.

This is a very common myth, to be honest. The chips in your devices are smart enough to cut off power and / or drip feed the remaining percentage to keep your battery at a healthy level. That's why the final 15% usually takes just as long as the initial 70% that went before it.

 

[Krakenn]

So if next years iphone has no port, does that mean that the French will receive a free set of AirPods with their phones?

It's possible...but not for Free...Check the prices in France in the first page.

 

[BaltimoreMediaBlog]

Does this mean if we'd have stayed in the Paris Accord, we'd be getting headphones in America too?
Or are these unrelated?

 

[assb10yr]

"French law demands that manufacturers provide a hands-free accessory with smartphones due to concerns about the effect of electromagnetic waves on the brains."
Is there real data based objective science that is driving this?
Or the French bureaucrats just being a PIA?

It's feelings based laws and policies.

 

[Btaylor_prod]

I’ve always used the supplied EarPods, they were my go-to for yard work. Didn’t worry to much if they got dirty or sweaty.

 

[iReality85]

If they were including AirPods, I'd be jealous. But I haven't used the wired EarPods in years, so... meh.

 

[stevoc921]

"French law demands that manufacturers provide a hands-free accessory with smartphones due to concerns about the effect of electromagnetic waves on the brains."
Is there real data based objective science that is driving this?
Or the French bureaucrats just being a PIA?

Mostly bureaucrats.

 

[crawfish963]

I wish Apple would still include these in the box - I definitely prefer the EarPods most of the time as they don’t need to be recharged every night

The rumor is that Apple is going to discontinue the lightning port on next year’s iPhone - I hope they can continue to make their other lightning accessories like their smart battery case which works great!

I have several pairs. If you pay for shipping I will send you one for free.

 

[doboy]

France doesn't care for the environment

 

[coredev]

So much for lowering that carbon footprint!

Not for France, but that is a very small part of the new iPhone shipments.
I still like the smaller box and less stuff you never use anyway.

 

[69Mustang]

This is a very common myth, to be honest. The chips in your devices are smart enough to cut off power and / or drip feed the remaining percentage to keep your battery at a healthy level. That's why the final 15% usually takes just as long as the initial 70% that went before it.

It's not a myth and you're not accounting for all the devices that don't use smart battery tech... which is most of them. Generally speaking, the 80/20 rule is a sound principle to follow for battery health. Smart battery tech like variable charge rate helps mitigate battery degradation; as does the 80/20. It's not a binary either/or proposition. Regardless, leaving your battery powered device constantly plugged in is not the greatest idea.

 

[jarman92]

So much for lowering that carbon footprint!

Apple sold 185 million iPhones in 2019...even assuming 10% of those were sold in France (which is generous), that's 166 million smaller iPhone boxes and 166 million fewer sets of headphones. So yeah, they enormously reduced their carbon footprint.
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"French law demands that manufacturers provide a hands-free accessory with smartphones due to concerns about the effect of electromagnetic waves on the brains."

Christ. 🤦🏼‍♂️

 

[thomas-chk]

When next iPhone will be portless in 2021, I hope France will make Apple ship it with Airpods 😜

 

[44267547]

The one thing I find surprising about the EarPods, is they actually do have quite a bit of a popular following on eBay for resale when they’re sold ‘new’. I think there’s still plenty of a market for wired EarPods, I support Apples decision not including them anymore, as I still have three sets sitting in a drawer that I’ve never used. Bluetooth has just become so widely spread, allow the consumer to choose what they want for preference.

 

[kupua]

"French law demands that manufacturers provide a hands-free accessory with smartphones due to concerns about the effect of electromagnetic waves on the brains."
Is there real data based objective science that is driving this?
Or the French bureaucrats just being a PIA?

But they obviously didn't even thing about this... EarPods, is technically / literally an antenna (direct wire) for ElectroMagnetic Waves directly to the users ear canal? WTF. Hands-free should re-understood to be speakerphone

 

[rbgaynor]

Does this mean if we'd have stayed in the Paris Accord, we'd be getting headphones in America too?
Or are these unrelated?

This has nothing to do with the Paris Accord (if anything it’s anti Paris Accord).

 

[Spizike9]

I agree with the environmental effects of including EarPods since everyone must have that or AirPods. However, they really should have included a power brick. I ordered one to use with MagSafe after ordering the MagSafe charger, meaning extra shipping and packaging. I'm sure most iPhone 12 users will purchase a USB-C 20W power adapter which defeats the purpose of saving the environment.

But accomplishes the real purpose of higher profits. 😏

 

[Brianc444719]

Why exactly do the French need this?
Is France not on Earth too?

It's bad enough that boomers don't care about environmental health, but whole countries too?

Seriously, buying an iPhone every year is just killing the planet and you are complaining about protectig people against waves ? (and making sure they do not use their hands to take their phones when driving...).