Kuo: iPhone 12 May Not Come With EarPods in the Box, Apple to Introduce AirPods Promotion in Second Half of 2020

[randomgeeza]

WT... This is simply Apple being TIGHT! My God... waste or no waste... Wired last much longer than wirefree. Therefore the ecological argument is a little moot. This is purely a profit driven exercise. I know they are a business but this is a little embarrassing for the brand. #courage

 

[SD449]

Finally the year that the “Back to school” promo includes free AirPods with an upcharge of £/$99 for the Pro version?

 

[Jury]

It's evidently clear that Tim Cook is making Apple product and out of the box experience less perfect.

If the rumors are true, the AR Glass from Apple will be very flimsy and lack of camera and no onboard A12 SoC for being independent from the iPhone.

It is not going to be groundbreaking at all if that AR glass will start at $500 that can't be used without the iPhone.

 

[kb923689]

Better reduce the price of iPhones to go along with the change then, especially here in the UK where they are priced very high.

You know that's not gonna happen. This is another way of increase profit on our expense. If we could choose what accessories we want to make the price lower is another thing.

 

[vmistery]

_You_ don't have any working EarPods at the moment. Other people have three sets hidden in a drawer somewhere. What happens more often? Those with three sets in a drawer would pay for a 4th set. I'd look on eBay.

Apple should sell them for say £29.99 and add a voucher that lets you buy either EarPods with £27.99 off or AirPods with £50 off. So almost free for people like you, but nobody will pay even £2 to add a 4th one to their collection.

Yep, exactly what I was thinking.

 

[icerabbit]

I still use wired pods weekly with phone and tablet, take a set when traveling, ... Simple and reliable. Always ready when needed. No worries about pod battery life, not another thing to charge every other day and avoids needing to pitch them out after 2 years and replace them with another set of $$$.

Corded is just fine and the only people who consistently struggle with voice comms in our online game group are using bluetooth, battery life just is not there. It is like a weekly thing, where somebody on BT runs out of juice in short order, and has to grab the factory wired set.

I understand most people may not use their wired set ... but it will not be exciting when Apple charges just the same for the phone, ditches the headset ... and you have to pay an extra $29 or $200.

 

[chucker23n1]

_You_ don't have any working EarPods at the moment. Other people have three sets hidden in a drawer somewhere. What happens more often? Those with three sets in a drawer would pay for a 4th set. I'd look on eBay.

Apple should sell them for say £29.99 and add a voucher that lets you buy either EarPods with £27.99 off or AirPods with £50 off. So almost free for people like you, but nobody will pay even £2 to add a 4th one to their collection.

This sounds good to me.

Might even drive me to get the AirPods instead.

(edit)

In Apple's own online store, they really don't need the whole voucher stuff. Just make it a build-to-order option:

(•) No bundled headphones
( ) EarPods $10
( ) AirPods $120
( ) AirPods with wireless charging case $150

So that's $19 off, $49 off, $49 off

 

[xDKP]

Makes sense. I’ve had two iPhones since AirPods came out and never touched the included EarPods. May as well reduce that waste, and I’m sure the extra AirPod sales don’t hurt...

Also if the rumour of Apple removing the lightning port next year are accurate then it makes sense to wean people off wired headphones this year.

Same here - I've had a couple of iPhones as well without using the provided EarPods - Would have loved a promotion for AirPods instead

 

[chucker23n1]

I left my AirPods for servicing a day before the lockdown was enforced so I was given no option but to use the EarPods. This reminded me of how happy we should be we have the AirPods, as the wired ones are such a pain. Apart from having the cable hanging, there is some issue with the lightening connector, so the music will stop from time to time, without me doing anything.

It sounds like you have dirt in your Lightning connector and should look into that.

I use Lightning EarPods almost every day, for an hour at a time (long exercise), and don't have connection issues.

What is more, years ago, before I got my AirPods, I could never use the EarPods for a long period of time, the cable is of a such low quality that you just can’t keep them for long. Having said that, I believe it is the right decision for Apple to ditch the wired ones. I wish they could include the AirPods with the Pro iPhone, even if this would mean slightly price increase, but most people will be against that anyways.

I haven't seen the cable get bad (I sure have seen Lightning charging cables get bad, though), but the monitors seem to deteriorate a lot over time.

 

[mariusignorello]

I can kind of see the reasoning on this. Most people collect the accessories (headphones, charging cable/adapter, etc) from every phone but most likely only use one set. The rest ends up in a junk drawer.

I could see them offering it upon request as a free add on but otherwise not including it to prevent waste. The same could go with the charging cable and adapter. I have 10 of them and only two get used. The rest are sitting brand new in a zip lock bag in case one breaks.

As for an AirPods promo, they could do it as an entitlement like they did with Apple TV+. Tap the link and it gives you a redemption code to use in the Apple Store app.

 

[AlexGraphicD]

Makes sense. I’ve had two iPhones since AirPods came out and never touched the included EarPods. May as well reduce that waste, and I’m sure the extra AirPod sales don’t hurt...

Also if the rumour of Apple removing the lightning port next year are accurate then it makes sense to wean people off wired headphones this year.

A better way to reduce that waste is to stop releasing new iPhone or iWatch models every year that don’t offer anything substantial to the line and force the consumers to learn to live with old and reliable devices for longer than one year. I mean seriously, how much did the average consumer’s life changed for the better with the release of iWatch 5, iPhone XS and 11? Or even iPhone 12 for that matter.

 

[otternonsense]

Not too surprised after the lightning to 3.5" dongle bit the bullet, not too happy about it either. Cheap-o greedy Tim is cutting corners from every possible direction, especially when it comes to peripherals and connectivity means, where he can then sell pricier peripherals and adapters as a "solution" to a problem Apple itself has created.

Do we have strong evidence that people "don't even touch" the bundled EarPods, other than anecdotal experience? To also be the devil's advocate, though, the lightning EarPods have been a fundamentally sub-par accessory from the start. It's ridiculous that you can't even use them between your other Apple devices (MacBooks, iPad Pro's).

Question remains: would the price of the phone stay the same?
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A better way to reduce that waste is to stop releasing new iPhone or iWatch models every year that don’t offer anything substantial to the line and force the consumers to learn to live with old and reliable devices for longer than one year. I mean seriously, how much did the average consumer’s life changed for the better with the release of iWatch 5, iPhone XS and 11? Or even iPhone 12 for that matter.

The iPhone 11 Pro has been a substantial shift in battery life and camera performance. It's been a definite net positive change for me personally but I also admit I'm not an average consumer

 

[chucker23n1]

A better way to reduce that waste is to stop releasing new iPhone or iWatch models every year that don’t offer anything substantial to the line and force the consumers to learn to live with old and reliable devices for longer than one year. I mean seriously, how much did the average consumer’s life changed for the better with the release of iWatch 5, iPhone XS and 11? Or even iPhone 12 for that matter.

I really fail to see how that reduces waste. New devices get purchased regardless; this just improves them slightly. Apple mostly doesn't expect people to actually buy a new one every year, with the exception of those who get the iPhone Upgrade Program (and even then, the old one doesn't get thrown away; Apple presumably sells it as refurbished).
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the lightning EarPods have been a fundamentally sub-par accessory from the start. It's ridiculous that you can't even use them between your other Apple devices (MacBooks and iPad Pro's).

Yeah, that's quite a bummer. I would love to use them in my MacBook Pro and… nope. I suppose someone could build a reverse adapter to turn them into a USB audio device, but… it probably isn't worth it for a $29 accessory.

 

[mariusignorello]

I really fail to see how that reduces waste. New devices get purchased regardless; this just improves them slightly. Apple mostly doesn't expect people to actually buy a new one every year, with the exception of those who get the iPhone Upgrade Program (and even then, the old one doesn't get thrown away; Apple presumably sells it as refurbished).
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Yeah, that's quite a bummer. I would love to use them in my MacBook Pro and… nope. I suppose someone could build a reverse adapter to turn them into a USB audio device, but… it probably isn't worth it for a $29 accessory.

They have a robot that disassembles and recycles each and every part that is reusable. It’s called Lisa I think?

 

[kb923689]

I still use wired pods weekly with phone and tablet, take a set when traveling, ... Simple and reliable. Always ready when needed. No worries about pod battery life, not another thing to charge every other day and avoids needing to pitch them out after 2 years and replace them with another set of $$$.

Corded is just fine and the only people who consistently struggle with voice comms in our online game group are using bluetooth, battery life just is not there. It is like a weekly thing, where somebody on BT runs out of juice in short order, and has to grab the factory wired set.

I understand most people may not use their wired set ... but it will not be exciting when Apple charges just the same for the phone, ditches the headset ... and you have to pay an extra $29 or $200.

The earphones that come out of the box are so reliable. They want you to buy the Bluetooth version because they're expensive and don't last. And I love how some users act like this is the "future" and "easy to use" when you have to worry about the AirPods' battery. I already have a phone and a laptop to charge, that's enough for me.

 

[otternonsense]

In Apple's own online store, they really don't need the whole voucher stuff. Just make it a build-to-order option:

(•) No bundled headphones
( ) EarPods $10
( ) AirPods $120
( ) AirPods with wireless charging case $150

So that's $19 off, $49 off, $49 off

That's a great idea actually. Maybe a bit too good to be true, considering the chip Apple has on their shoulder against choice and modularity.

 

[Kebabselector]

Maybe it's time to ditch the charger? I've got enough of them, I don't want any more e-waste.

​

 

[chucker23n1]

They have a robot that disassembles and recycles each and every part that is reusable. It’s called Lisa I think?

No, Lisa is their head of environment. I think you mean Daisy.

But that's for a much later stage in life. I don't think they would disassemble a phone that's only a year old and still in working condition.

 

[newdeal]

I have a drawer full of earbuds that I never use that came with phones I purchased so I am fine with this but I am sure its just because of bean counters

 

[Coconut Bean]

_You_ don't have any working EarPods at the moment. Other people have three sets hidden in a drawer somewhere. What happens more often? Those with three sets in a drawer would pay for a 4th set. I'd look on eBay.

Apple should sell them for say £29.99 and add a voucher that lets you buy either EarPods with £27.99 off or AirPods with £50 off. So almost free for people like you, but nobody will pay even £2 to add a 4th one to their collection.

If the only argument was e-waste and that people don't use it they would include a voucher for a free EarPod at an AppleStore. But trust me it's not the case. It's about increasing profit by $100M directly, which is the profit if manufacturing cost of EarPods is $3. As well as directing people to AirPods....

 

[uniquexoxo]

I guess this is why Apple leaks of iPhone 12 shows cheaper than iPhone 11, they're going to throw in an AirPods, and boom it's back up again lol

 

[mariusignorello]

That's a great idea actually. Maybe a bit too good to be true, considering the chip Apple has on their shoulder against choice and modularity.

It would be similar to an up-sell when configuring a custom Mac.
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No, Lisa is their head of environment. I think you mean Daisy.

But that's for a much later stage in life. I don't think they would disassemble a phone that's only a year old and still in working condition.

There ya go 😏

 

[Val-kyrie]

Good. I’ve never used them, but yet, I always paid for them.

No worries. Now you can’t use them but you still have to pay for them.

 

[djcerla]

Aren't mobile phones manufactures obliged to provide head phones with every device sold, according to the safe driving laws and regulations? I think in Europe that's the case.

Nope!!! In Italy it’s even forbidden to use headphones while driving.

 

[seb2195]

This would be a more acceptable move if they still put the lightning to 3.5mm adapter in there so people have a recourse to use a pair of wired headphones from literally any other manufacturer with their new phone without having to fork over another $9 or more.

Yeah, that would be an acceptable mid way ground I think. At least that gives the consumers an alternative.