I have at least 15 Apple chargers sitting in a drawer. I don't need another one every time we replace a device.
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I need a brick
- Thread starter themaestro
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The multi-billion power bank rechargeable battery business operates without giving consumers a) a power brick or b) a USB cable.
I've never been to a restaurant that told me that in order to purchase a $1000 bottle of wine I also had to pay $20 for a corkscrew as a 'bundle'.
And it's not like Apple doesn't sell the adapter or it's out of stock. It's right there if you need it. Instead of forcing a customer to pay for the charger by raising the price of the phone, they offer it on the side. Quite reasonable.
Apple did inform those who were listening. I suppose ignorance can be claimed as a defense. But to me it still goes back to:
- the universe of people ignorant to the fact that Apple is not including brick or pods
- who don't have any extra bricks and/or cables
- who doesn't have any other USB accessories that require a charging brick
- believe the only way to charge the iphone 12 is with the included cable and an apple purchased 20w charger
In other words, a probably small universe of customers. On the scale Apple operates they at least attempt to affect large scale changes for the masses, not sweeping changes for a niche set of customers.
Most of the opinions expressed in these posts cannot be disputed. Customers were affected, how many is either relevant or not relevant to the discussion, they either complain or not, but what's done is done and have to get with the program.
Thats not what all the reviewers are saying. They are saying to get the full 15 watts from the MagSafe, you need the new charging brick.
I just read somewhere (someone else posted a link) a 20w pd 3.0 charger is needed...such as Anker. Doesn't have to be Apple's charger.
Except that is what I said in the second paragraph of my comment. Use an already existing lightning cord if you own it, or if they are a previous Android switcher or want the second cord anyways, buy a $20 lightning to USB A cord to make it compatible with their previous bricks. If they already have USB C bricks from the previous Phones, they'd be good anyways with the USB C cord.
There are always those people too lazy to go through the hassle, and those accepting the environmental statement will know the statement of already having bricks is true and not go for it. This would be a win for the environment and consumer had they gone through with the coupon system. Not to mention it being a coupon making it $10 instead of $20, making it not exactly free, but also not the obvious money making measure that it is.
The headphone port is a design choice on the device(not an outright change based on shipping logistics), and by the way they included lightning to headphone cords for a transition period of 2 years. They could have easily done the same including USB C adapters for 2 years beginning this year and the added bonus iPhone 11 Pros also came with the adapters as well. The ripping the band aid metaphor just screws more people over, although you're right, that it will be just accepted within the next year and thats why they did it, maximum profit to have it over with ASAP.
Accept they raised the price of the 11 to 12 $130, I'd find it hard to believe the price of $830 or $850 meant that much different(yes the price was unchanged on the Pro models, so there is more to it, not to mention the deceptive pricing labeled $30 cheaper), and isn't that the point, it's a several hundred dollar device that should come with the required to work accessory that cost way less than $20 to produce, and if they really cared about the environment, there are at least 5 ways brought up that would be more effective, and in the long term environment really would benefit.
I think this would create a secondary market for the chargers. People could buy them at $10 and sell them for $15 for example. Don't for a second think that Apple didn't think of it. A better solution would be multiple skus, some without the charger and pods and some with. A discount could be had for those skus without the charger. This still comes with it's own set of "issue" having to do with packaging, which gets back to the environmental side of it. But it could be a stop-gap measure in that the iphone 13, would be free once and for all from the chargers and pods.
The 12 is a brand new phone and costs more than the 11. That makes sense considering the bump in camera, network, glass, etc.
The environmental benefits are felt immediately. The vast majority of 12 owners will pull one of their existing Apple adapters and lightning cables out of the drawer and be happy with that. If you want fast charging, well, you can feel free to pay for it. It’s only $20.
Apple’s flagship iPhone is a $1000 purchase. It’s the phone for the wealthy. They can afford the charger and shouldn’t complain about it. A decent lunch costs $30. A mani-pedi costs $50. Perspective.
If they offered a coupon system, how many people would complain they had to pay $10? People here are complaining that they should have included it for free.
Sure profit is a bonus for Apple, but how much money do you think they are making off people that just need a brick to charge that they didn’t have one at all at home? I am not talking about the people that are buying the 20w brick for use with MagSafe. Just purely because they didn’t have a brick at all and it’s a necessity to run the iPhone. That’s number is tiny.
Or let people discuss something in a place that exists for discussions where people can choose to read and participate in discussions or skip them if they don't impact them or aren't of interest to them.
Seems like a lot of continued complaining about supposed complaining that is related to something that is supposedly basically inconsequential. Rather odd.
Apple is a trillion dollar company, the power adapter costs them pennies, so relatively speaking it's almost exponentially less impactful for them to include one during a transitional period. Seems like that type of logic holds up this aspect of it even better.
Seems like a lot of continued complaining about supposed complaining that is related to something that is supposedly basically inconsequential. Rather odd.
There are some who want or perhaps even need to think of themselves as wealthy might consider that things of that nature somehow define and mean that. That aspect of it is rather moot in any case. If the implication there is that the wealthy don't really care about paying more for something just because they are wealthy, many of those who are actually wealthy know better (just as certainly many of those who aren't).
Apple is a trillion dollar company, the power adapter costs them pennies, so relatively speaking it's almost exponentially less impactful for them to include one during a transitional period. Seems like that type of logic holds up this aspect of it even better.
I think I mentioned this before, but my purpose for joining this thread wasn’t because of complaining. The OP originally stated that he didn’t know there wouldn’t be a brick in the box, and he thought the cable was different and he couldn’t use his old cables. Therefore, he felt that a $1000 device should have a charging brick in it.
My original point (despite feeling that the complaining was completely unwarranted) was that the OP had no excuse for not knowing what would be in the box. Not knowing what he would need to charge his new iPhone. Apple is very clear, and there was plenty of news coverage on the change. Complain if you like, but everyone purchasing the iPhone 12 series has the information to know what they are getting in the box. Buying it means it’s your job to figure it out. It’s not Apple’s fault you don’t know what’s in the box. Therefore, I think the OPs complaints are unwarranted.
Ah, but it’s not the cost of the adapter that is at the heart of the issue, it’s the height.
The 20W adapter would double the height of the box and thus cut in half the amount of iPhones that can be packed in a shipping container. And as shipping containers are expensive and, in a pandemic, harder to come by in China, it’s a major factor in the decision to remove them. Not to mention the benefit to the entire supply chain right down to how much more product a retail store can fit on its backroom shelves be it a spacious Apple flagship or a kiosk in the mall.
The benefits of removing the charger are many. Those who want one can buy one at the time of purchase. Anyone laying out $1000 on a phone they really don’t need to replace the perfectly good $1000 phone they already own can afford it. $20 is lunch money. Someone who wants a third sweet and sour sauce with his McDonald’s six piece chicken nuggets has a better argument than this.
Don't think it's continued complaining as much as the same conversations going around in circles, as sometimes tends to happen on internet forums.
What is missing in these discussions is scale. It's all well and good for an individual poster, not to like, be inconvenienced, be caught unaware, and/or not know what to do, based on the changed caused by Apple's decisions, it's quite another to discuss as if this were a general case for hundreds of millions of customers. Further it's also helpful to know how many of these customers, would make a buying decision based on this information.
Seems like we back to the same logic that supports Apple including it even more, as has been mentioned before.
That very well may be the case, as it happens (as you mentioned), however, that doesn't really add more validity to posts that keep on saying not much more than effectively "stop complaining".
You are talking about the overall impact of it, and that's not really what it's about for consumers who feel the effect of it. As mentioned before, Apple is giant enough to be in the "too big to fail" type of category when it comes to making decisions of this nature. Meaning they can do all kinds of things that might not be all that good for the consumer without really feeling a negative effect from those things.
However, from the consumer side of things that in itself didn't mean that whatever Apple decides to change or do is automatically good and right for them (the consumer) simply because of that -- it ends up becoming the reality just because of the reach, but not necessarily because it was the best thing. They are two separate things.
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Sure, if they raise the price of the phone $20 (brick retail value) and $10 (increased shipping cost) and $250 (loss of revenue from shipping half as many iPhones per ocean container) that's just fine.
Again, Apple didn't take something back from consumers. They chose to sell the iPhone 12 for $280 less to save consumers some money and so that customers could decide on their own if they needed it.
And what are we really talking about here anyway? The 20W adapter charges to a usable level in 30 minutes. The 5W adapter charges to usability in 3 hours. I'm guessing 90% of all iPhone users have been using nothing but 5W bricks since 2010 and are using them still with their iPhone 12's. If they get frustrated with the slower speeds, Apple offers a very affordable solution or they can use one of the iPad bricks or third party bricks they undoubtedly have.
Apple has released new phone models that were updated and improved every year for over a decade just fine without the need to remove accessories (and in some cases even adding accessories when they decided to change something) to make up for something. That sort of logic also ends applying to Apple even more.
Certainly. But I think you underestimate the impact of the pandemic on the supply chain. Apple's stores are hemorrhaging, luxury spending is down, family tech money is going to laptops and webcams, and the impact to factories and suppliers in China is severe.
Point being a) product costs are higher than they once were and b) Apple's operating income is lower than it once was. The advancements of the iPhone 12 aren't free and can't be absorbed by savvy negotiating with factories or boosts from retail channels. Tough times for everyone, including Apple. The reason the product isn't $300 more expensive than it is has to do with a smaller box, no adapter, etc. Apple didn't take something from buyers; they are giving them a price break.
It may be valid to ask/question/criticize Apple for this, but there comes a time when "beating that poor horse" takes over and is time to acknowledge there is no where to go.
This is a nuance because there needs to be some feeling of an impact, else this discussion holds no water. Everything Apple does generates controversy. The latest example is the less battery life than the iphone 11, which could be construed as being a solid comparison to removing the charger/pods. The impact for some who updated from the iphone 11, might be worse, but for those who updated from an xs max or earlier might be better.
What might be good for a minority of consumers, is not necessarily good for the majority or for Apple itself. I am not suggesting these things should be talked about, but this type of thing falls in line with everything Apple does no one will agree 100% and it doesn't make it a bad thing for consumers, even if discussed in a negative light.