iOS 14.2 Suggests Apple Won't Include EarPods in the Box With iPhone 12

[_Refurbished_]

"Here at Apple, we're going to start removing things from our product boxes that will make us more money. We will spin it as pro-consumer or helping the environment. We care about our shareholders, not our landfills. We want to maximize profits and jab at people, since we can. We hope this will make you buy our Beats products. This is a win, win for us. We will look like the good guys by removing the headphones, and continue to charge you through the roof for our new phones. Why pay $600, when we can get you to pay $1000? I'm Tim Cook and I approve this message."

- Tim Cook

 

[dz5b609]

How is this reducing packaging and environmental waste if I have to order a power supply or headphones from someone else and they have to ship it to me in a separate box through a separate carrier as part of a separate transaction?

I'm so tired of this feel-good nonsense that doesn't actually have a net positive at all. In fact, it's a net negative. Well done Tim.

Why would you order those when you still have multiple new ones of them in your house.

90% of the iPhone buyers won't need new headphones or power adapters and won't be ordering new ones. So that's a 90% decrease. Why you focus on the remaining 10% I have no idea. It's a net positive by a massive amount.

 

[recoil80]

While I agree that the USB cable, power brick and earphones are useless for most, it is still necessary for some and one should be able to get em for free (or a small fee to prevent abuse) if asked.

This.
If you buy those accessories together with an iPhone, you should have huge discount and get them for a few $.
If all they care about is the environment, asking a small amount of money would still prevent most people from buying the accessories if they don't need them, and not including them into the box wouldn't be perceived as a greedy move from Apple.

 

[m4a]

Here we go again. Apple will say it is saving the planet.

I have 3 Apple Earpods at home, 2 of them still in the box. Personally, I use Bose QC35 or Airpods. A big majority of people have at least a pair of some type of earphones. I totally support this decision if it means less waste.

 

[itsmilo]

Kind of....remember the market is already saturated...so a lot of users that will buy the iphone 12, already are Apple users...fewer and fewer are new customers . And if you are new, you can pay for what charger you want the 5W , 12W 18W or the upcoming 20W

hmmm 80 % in Germany use android still and they are one of the important launch countries

 

[Hammerd]

why they always have better laws that actually do make people's lives better?

Perhaps because the law there are not driven by the market and lobbyist only?

 

[wallah]

I don't know about this. In the middle of a global health threat and when I have even worse work life balance than before working from home accommodating other family members who are now WFH and studying FH, I feel like this gives me more hassles to deal with, not make my life easier.

In my house, the people are moving around different rooms at different times of the day getting their stuff done, depending on what they need. If someone needs the quiet Zoom room the most (dining area with sunlight and closing doors), they get it and the others use other rooms, including the car. We need power in all the places and it's easy to misplace a single set of earbuds. They have outstanding reception for speaking voices (sound good too) and I prefer not to carry one set around with me whenever I'm on the move. Having power and totally necessary earbuds in my two most used spaces is a plus for me.

Taking these things away and giving me, say additional features, in a new phone is not a win for me. I don't use the full capacity of my phone now, so more AI on a better neural engine or a slightly improved camera instead is a bad trade for me. You've gotta make it cheaper if you're going to take practical tools away, so that I can buy them if I need them without even more expenditure on a new device. I like the coupon in the package idea, but make it for a 5W charger AND earbuds! I think taking these away when people might depend on them the most at this particular time is going in the wrong direction.

 

[Kerri Lotus]

While I agree that the USB cable, power brick and earphones are useless for most, it is still necessary for some and one should be able to get em for free (or a small fee to prevent abuse) if asked. Those items cost virtually nothing to Apple.
Also, if this an environmental-friendly decision, they should explain how selling disposable airpods with their 2 yr battery lifespan (non replaceable of course) is better .
Would they really care about the planet (and not selling more airpods), they would have made items that can be fixed.. I bought airpods pro but I've been pissed looking at iFixit and comments of fellows customers that face battery issues.

do you realise how many people damage earbuds and cords every 6 months? Also AirPods have a cheap battery replacement cost

 

[Christian 5G]

Calm down... Everyone is going to get extra Apple stickers 😁

 

[ds2000]

Honestly speaking, do people still even use these nowadays?

I've not used any supplied buds since my first Android over 10 years ago.

Completely agree. Every iPhone I've had I've sold on with the earphones brand new in the box. Maybe apple should just have a $10 opt-in if you want them?

 

[TiggrToo]

Nobody using a multitrack recording app uses wireless. Way too much lag.

And how many people “using a multitrack recording app“ use the free EarPods?

 

[TiggrToo]

We expect dumb **** from Samsung to be honest.

Oh no, you don’t get to give them a pass. If not supplying EarPods is an issue, then it’s an issue.

You giving Samsung a pass negates your argument.

 

[MrMacintoshIII]

I’m not at all bothered by this. As usual Apple needs to cut people off of their crap they’ve gotten used to 💩. Manja manja!

They did it with the floppy disk. They did it with usb-a and all the ports. And now they’re doing it with the supplied “accessories” that nobody ends up using except for teenagers on their “my very first iPhone bought for me by Mommy and Daddy” who cry about not being able to afford anything. Or else tech newbies who are just beginning to explore Apple. Well I’ve got news for these people. Sorry kids and Apple newbs, you’re late to the game. Back in the day Apple used to give you cleaning cloths and plastic docks and all this extra neat stuff, and it was nice.

Those days are gone.

Apple doesn’t need to cater to you anymore. Apple doesn’t need to cater to anybody anymore, at least, not to this level of extreme. The company has proven their worth now, and the buyer desires the product alone, not the REALLY PAINFUL stock headphones that come with it. Not the 5 watt charger, nor the cable. It’s 2020 and we all have those, and the youngins and Apple newcomers get to enjoy a modern iPhone instead of an iPhone 2G with allllll their favorite extras bundled in.

Does anybody catch my drift? We need to march towards the future even if we have to drag these tech newbies kicking and screaming, and I for one am glad to see Apple wield its power instead of let it go to waste.

You go Tim, keep evolving Apple. I mean this unironically.
[automerge]1601453027[/automerge]

And how many people using a “using a multitrack recording app“ use the free EarPods?

Bang on good response there mate. Let’s see what he has to offer in response.

Edit: Postscript, watch Samsung and others copy Apple’s strategy exactly.

The difference between Apple and others is that Apple wields their power, while others are only ever striving for it. They achieved this by trusting their own vision, thanks to Jobs.


Postpostscript: In fairness, I do think Pro iPhones should still come with a 20W USB-C charger and cable, and guess what? They will (probably)!

 

[dannys1]

To be honest I think it's strange that people think a phone should come with free headphones anyway - also they're absolutely rubbish.

 

[currocj]

/sarcasm

extra money saved? Are you serious? Money saved on a $1000 iPhone? Only Apple getting a the savings in the form of less accessories produced and more boxes crammed into a shipping container

 

[MartyvH]

Is it just me? The EarPods sound horrible compared to my US$249 2003 Sennheiser wired headphones plugged into the 2016 iPhone SE, or the iPhone XS via dongle. Unlistenable. It's only useful for hands-free calls.

Edit: price

 

[Arctic Moose]

Taking these things away and giving me, say additional features, in a new phone is not a win for me. I don't use the full capacity of my phone now, so more AI on a better neural engine or a slightly improved camera instead is a bad trade for me. You've gotta make it cheaper if you're going to take practical tools away, so that I can buy them if I need them without even more expenditure on a new device. I like the coupon in the package idea, but make it for a 5W charger AND earbuds! I think taking these away when people might depend on them the most at this particular time is going in the wrong direction.

Since the new phone will just be an incremental improvement of what you already have, guess what, there is no need to buy it!

You save $1000 and can buy a practically unlimited number of $29 headphones and $29 chargers instead. (Actually, you could probably ask for donations here and have tens, if not hundreds, mailed to you for the cost of shipping.)

 

[Dave245]

To be honest I think it's strange that people think a phone should come with free headphones anyway - also they're absolutely rubbish.

But they are not free nothing is ever free! I don’t mind if Apple do something to supplement the cost, maybe include the rumoured braided cable.

 

[Hammerd]

do you realise how many people damage earbuds and cords every 6 months? Also AirPods have a cheap battery replacement cost

Wrong

 

[dannys1]

But they are not free nothing is ever free! I don’t mind if Apple do something to supplement the cost, maybe include the rumoured braided cable.

I'm pretty sure that's what's happening - upgraded cable, no charger or ****** headphones.

 

[scaramoosh]

I don't care as I never use them, however there has to be some benefit to the consumer. This is going to save Apple millions... so how will that translate to our pockets? It won't, it'll just mean we have to fork out extra for a charger and earphones ourselves, which you could argue we do already since Apple pack crap ones with the Phone.

What would be nice is to put AirPods in the box instead.... but it won't happen. I've given up on Apple though, I sold my iMac, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, AirPort Extreme and MacBook, they're dated now and I have no use for any of them. However I haven't upgraded because other people offer better solutions now, Apple are charging increasingly more and more at a time when they're falling behind. I used to be able to justify paying twice as much for a MacBook because they had the build quality and still had an Nvidia GPU in them. However now everyone is producing equally as well built Laptops, only with a far greater warranty and they\re repairable too. I paid £600 for my Lenovo and it has specs better than a MacBook that is 4 times as much..

I'm still using my iPhone, but Apple blocking Game Pass and other services really makes me think go switching to Android. If Android had a phone like the SE with as good specs I would switch, however it cost me £350 and Apple has their market on their own right now.

I'm still using a 2018 Mac Mini, which I bought because I needed something since I sold my Mac and iMac. However I got it on sale for £299, I'm not giving Apple £2500 for a new Mac any more. It is only my bedtime surfing the web PC, it isn't my main work PC any more as I've gone back to Windows.... which is a shame because Windows has a lot wrong with it.

 

[Dave245]

I'm pretty sure that's what's happening - upgraded cable, no charger or ****** headphones.

I don't mind that, as long as there is some benefit to the customer. If Apple were to take these things out of the box and increase the price, i think that would be a bad idea. Including a better quality cable and maybe the AirPods at a cheaper price (maybe a bundle) then that would be good.

 

[laptech]

The decison about wanting a charger and earpods with the iphone 12 should be made at the point of sale by the customer. If the customer is already an iphone owner and they are wanting to upgrade to the latest model then depending on the model of the iphone they already own, it should be determined if the charger and earpods they already own are compatible with the latest model and if they are, all that needs to be purchased is the iphone and no extras. But if the customer has never owned an iphone before then a charger and earpods should be supplied as standard at no extra cost to the customer.

 

[Wanted797]

How is this reducing packaging and environmental waste if I have to order a power supply or headphones from someone else and they have to ship it to me in a separate box through a separate carrier as part of a separate transaction?

I'm so tired of this feel-good nonsense that doesn't actually have a net positive at all. In fact, it's a net negative. Well done Tim.

Because everyone is not you.

Most people have headphones and chargers already.

For the small number of people like you who buy them separately it is less efficient and environmentally friendly. But there’s less of you so the net result is still a big reduction in emissions and e-waste.

 

[johannnn]

I doubt that most people have a USB-C charger or a lightning earbuds.

Or does this mean Apple is admitting that they are only selling iPhones to only existing users, thus not expanding to new users? That won't bode well with shareholders.

iPhones don't come with USB-C. This is the reason they're still shipping chargers with the iPads, because they have USB-C.

Regarding earbuds, people are going wireless. It's going fast.