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iPhone 12 Models Ship in Thinner Box Without EarPods or Charger

Kyle4 said:
What’s irksome to me is that all of the benefits are for them, not the end user ultimately. They’ll be able to fit more iPhones on a truck, save in production costs etc but the user is still paying the same amount. There‘s no denying it’s great for the environment, but a drop in price of $30 or a credit for Apple Music would go a long way.
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The benefits are for the environment, both in that Apple is making strides in reducing carbon waste, and might inspire others to do so as well. That's a benefit for everybody.

I get that Apple has a lot of money, they bring in so much revenue...but why is there this constant finger-pointing going on about whether they need to give back to the consumer? It's a simple math problem. I will get [this item] if I pay [this much money]. Beyond that what is the matter?
 
This is so nice from Apple taking care of the environment!

Now we'll just have to order a new charger from a Chinese factory that probably throws all of its residues into the ocean.
 
hot-gril said:
USB-C is still new because I still need a stupid dock to plug anything into my work laptop, and it's glitchy enough that I often have to replug things to make them work. I get that standards have to change, but they needed a transitional period as usual where the Macs had both ports instead of yoloing it (esp when iPhones STILL don't use USB-C for some reason).
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USB-C is no longer new. There was no transition period and Apple did that because of the perpetual whining I read on these forums about USB-C being too new and needing a transition period which would never end because people are too f***ing cheap to buy $20 worth of the proper cables. Please sing that song to someone who will actually believe it.
 
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Zdigital2015 said:
If they don't, then they get a USB charge with the new phones and all they need to do is buy an adapter, big whoop. And if the can't afford the adapter then they probably shouldn't be buying the phone either.
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Yup, paying the same and getting less (while the company gets to save more).
 
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aaronhead14 said:
The problem is that they’re charging you the same (or more!) for less stuff and an overall worse experience. How can you not see that? They’re taking advantage of consumers all while hiding behind the thinly-veiled mask of “environmental friendliness.” It’s a lie, and a scheme to get more money for selling less.
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I don't think it's a lie. As for taking advantage, I feel that the more recent iPhones are too expensive, but I'm very happy with my new SE; I don't feel taken advantage of.
 
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C DM said:
Yup many people are basically getting a phone without anything else essentially as even the single included cable won't be useful to them without buying something else that they don't have (a different power adapter). While still basically paying the same type of prices they paid before when they got more.

And no, an increase in storage isn't there to balance out removal of something else, it's just how technology progresses. We don't get less and less simply because a faster CPU or more memory is there, it's not really how it works.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but memory and storage costs money. A 128GB memory chip is more expensive than a 64GB memory chip. That's not speculative - those are facts.
 
The phones have gotten bigger batteries over the years and Aple will be damned if their going to include the necessary USB-C charging brick in the box. Yeah, you c o u l d charge the new iPhones with an old 5 watt charger, but I bet you'll grow weary of waiting pretty quickly.

Guess what? Still gotta buy ANOTHER charger to charge this phone at a modern rate
 
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lkalliance said:
The benefits are for the environment, both in that Apple is making strides in reducing carbon waste, and might inspire others to do so as well. That's a benefit for everybody.

I get that Apple has a lot of money, they bring in so much revenue...but why is there this constant finger-pointing going on about whether they need to give back to the consumer? It's a simple math problem. I will get [this item] if I pay [this much money]. Beyond that what is the matter?
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It benefits Apple too as they get to save money on not producing and including those parts. It doesn't appear that any of that benefits the consumer much though as they are essentially paying the same for less.
 
sk8mash said:
Surely I’m not the only person that doesn’t have a single USB-C charger...
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So they should give everyone one, just so you and people like you can have one? Apple is definitely doing this to cut costs, not going to argue that, but the environmental benefit is real. Both the reduction in shipping volume, and thus CO2 emissions (by requiring fewer planes/trucks/ships), and the reduction in electronics produced are good for the environment. Only those people who need a charger should be getting one, and I share Apple's sentiment in that I hope other brands follow suit.

In your case, I'm sure your existing USB A to lightning cables work just fine with your existing USB A chargers. If you want USB-C you can buy one though. I'd recommend a GaN charger from Anker (or similar brand) over Apple.

Edit: can the disagree care to explain how this move harms the environment. Or do you just dislike reality? In that case, I'm right there with you.
 
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jashworth03 said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but memory and storage costs money. A 128GB memory chip is more expensive than a 64GB memory chip. That's not speculative - those are facts.
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Over time the prices change and drop by a quite a bit. 128 GB is likely even less now than what 64 GB used to be some time ago when it was still offered as an option along with additional accessories that were included but no longer are.

The iPhone 12 also still comes with the same 64 GB capacity, so not only is there no improvement there in that respect, but it's now even cheaper than it used to be before.
 
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C DM said:
The main point there is that they are removing the power adapter because many people already have one. But they are still keeping the cable. Yet they are changing the cable so that it would need a different power adapter. There's a disconnect there with that.

Beyond that, it effectively means you are paying the same type of prices and getting basically nothing but just the phone itself. You get to use your older adapters with older more worn out cables in the meantime. Nice for Apple to save money certainly, while at the same time no benefits at all to the consumer and essentially only downsides with needing either different power adapters or more cables to replace older ones.
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I just don't get this whole issue. There are probably a thousand little things in any phone update that change margins. I'm blown away by how much more this phone does than just a couple of years ago, for the same price. If the good I get in return is to play a small part in helping the environment, that's worth the couple of bucks.
 
C DM said:
The main point there is that they are removing the power adapter because many people already have one. But they are still keeping the cable. Yet they are changing the cable so that it would need a different power adapter. There's a disconnect there with that.
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Or you can just use a regular USB Lightning cable?
 
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lkalliance said:
I don't think it's a lie. As for taking advantage, I feel that the more recent iPhones are too expensive, but I'm very happy with my new SE; I don't feel taken advantage of.
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They’re telling you they’re removing accessories from the box to help the environment, but they’re actually doing it to save money and charge you more for less stuff, resulting in higher profit margins.

That’s literally the definition of a lie — saying something that isn’t true, in order to mask the truth.
 
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211 said:
So it doesn't come with a charger or AirPods, but the price is still the same? Now I have to buy a USB-C charger or Qi charger, so how is that good for the environment? Yes, in future it will be good, but unless you have an iPad Pro, I don't think anything else came with a USB-C charger before, so all those billions of chargers have been rendered useless for the iPhone 12. What Apple should do if it cares for the environment that much is that we can take in our existing chargers that it can recycle and replace them with USB-C/Qi chargers. Or at least get a discount.
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You do not have to buy a charger, unless this is your first iPhone. Otherwise your existing charger and cable will work fine.
 
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AppliedMicro said:
Apple: Millions, billions of chargers sold and in use around the world. Removing the included charger from new phones.

Also Apple: Ships USB-C to Lightning cable in every box that doesn't work with 99% of chargers in the world.
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I'm definitely not trying to go full Apple defense. But the old charger you own will still work if you already had an old iPhone (which is probably a likely scenario for most people willing to shell out $1k for a phone now) and its associated lightning cable. The new cable is not super convenient if you don't have a usb-c charger, but it can plug into any Mac or new pc and use the same USB-c charger that came with those.

I do think it would have made sense to include the charger for this first iteration of the phone, but given it would make sense for them to do it in a year's time, and how Apple almost universally removes things the iteration BEFORE it makes sense, removing the charger this time seems very much in line with how they operate.
 
lkalliance said:
You do not have to buy a charger, unless this is your first iPhone. Otherwise your existing charger and cable will work fine.
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You effectively now get no accessories for what you are paying. And certainly for plenty it would be a new iPhone too.
 
ToomeyND said:
I do think it would have made sense to include the charger for this first iteration of the phone
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Seems like that would have made quite a bit of sense. But Apple being able to save even more money makes even more sense to Apple.
 
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