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

[Rogifan]

I wish they could do something where people on the iPhone upgrade program could just request the new phone and nothing else. For me the EarPods, charging cable and adapter stay in the box and when I get a new phone all Apple wants back is the phone itself. That’s a lot of waste, imo.

 

[Herrpod]

#1.) It’s really juvenile to refer to him as “Timmy” and uncalled for.

#2.) I suspect A large majority of consumers do not use the wired EarPods in the box, and it probably wouldn’t be that much of an issue if they stop including them. And I suspect I’m not the only one who feels that way if this rumor proves to be accurate.

So include Bluetooth ear buds instead like many Android phone makers do.

 

[BvizioN]

Next step, no charger or cable included in the box.

AirPods are not a big deal. To be honest, for me neither is the charger or the cable, but I will take them if they come in the box since you never know when they may be needed. Using AirPods from day one, nearly 3.5 years now and I always charge my iPhone wirelessly. So really, what you have said on your comment is not too far from becoming reality. Just a matter of couple of years.

 

[SpringKid]

Next step, no charger or cable included in the box.

Like Nintendo. 🙃

 

[1144557]

So are they going to discount the overall price of the phone? I doubt it.

So include Bluetooth ear buds instead like many Android phone makers do.

Clearly many here have never run a business. The upgrades being put in arent "free" They eat into profit margins. 5g modems from Qualcomm arent cheap. 120hz OLEDs from Samsung arent cheap. The LIDAR sensor isnt cheap.

Everyone wants more and more for less and less, and that simply isnt reality no matter what expectations say. The cost of the materials is going up, I see 0 way they arent if the feature set rumors are true; which all sources seem to agree on

We heard this with the iphone X- "buh dis der $999 dolla!!!!" Not realizing that the display ALONE was far more expensive than a LCD. People were screaming for OLED and the complaining when that cost was passed on. Like "cmon man"

This theory that Apple is just making more profit on each successive model has been proven debunked many time. Their highest profit years per unit were actually in the iphone 6 (ish) era. They make LESS profit per device now, even at the current prices, than back then. There is more "stuff" in the phones now

I am more than ok losing some cheapo wired earbuds if the phone price isnt going up.

They could have EASILY done a Samsung and raised the prices $50-100 on each Pro model. Which would have pissed everyone off far far more overall than losing a crappy to begin with set of earbuds.

I wish they could do something where people on the iPhone upgrade program could just request the new phone and nothing else. For me the EarPods, charging cable and adapter stay in the box and when I get a new phone all Apple wants back is the phone itself. That’s a lot of waste, imo.

That is true, but some want a new cable. Those have poor lifespan before they fray. I just keep them as backups and eventually do use them.

Multiple earbuds are far more likely e-waste than lightning cables or power bricks. You can always use more cables and chargers for around the house/office.

 

[AlexGraphicD]

Clearly many here have never run a business. The upgrades being put in arent "free" They eat into profit margins. 5g modems from Qualcomm arent cheap. 120hz OLEDs from Samsung arent cheap. The LIDAR sensor isnt cheap.

Everyone wants more and more for less and less, and that simply isnt reality no matter what expectations say. The cost of the materials is going up, I see 0 way they arent if the feature set rumors are true; which all sources seem to agree on

I am more than ok losing some cheapo wired earbuds if the phone price isnt going up.

They could have EASILY done a Samsung and raised the prices $50-100 on each Pro model. Which would have pissed everyone off far far more overall than losing a crappy to begin with set of earbuds.



That is true, but some want a new cable. Those have poor lifespan before they fray. I just keep them as backups and eventually do use them.

Multiple earbuds are far more likely e-waste than lightning cables or power bricks. You can always use more cables and chargers for around the house/office.

And that is exactly where the problem lies. I fail to understand how an expensive implementation of the LIDAR sensor would benefit the average consumer. Heck, even the supposed pro cameras on iPhone 11 people claim that they are cinematic and you can shoot a movie with those. What is the purpose of shooting a "cinematic" movie with cameras that cannot produce shallow depth of field or bokeh? Ridiculous.

 

[1144557]

And that is exactly where the problem lies. I fail to understand how an expensive implementation of the LIDAR sensor would benefit the average consumer. Heck, even the supposed pro cameras on iPhone 11 people claim that they are cinematic and you can shoot a movie with those. What is the purpose of shooting a "cinematic" movie with cameras that cannot produce shallow depth of field or bokeh? Ridiculous.

No one is forcing you to buy it either; you can buy the 2 lower cost iphones or keep your current one. Plenty of choices. But this is clearly Apple's "vision of the future."

And speculation is that all of this LIDAR data is for the Apple AR glasses which will use LIDAR. Its tech forming future tech.

 

[tkermit]

Good decision Apple. For me I don’t really need three pairs of lightning EarPods. Lower the price by $1 and let people get a free pair if they want.

Or, more realistically, the price will stay exactly the same (or increase, due to the added value provided by minimalism) and people have the option of purchasing either a $30 pair of EarPods or a $300 pair of AirPods.

 

[DrRadon]

Next step, no charger or cable included in the box.

I don’t know how to feel about this, if it leads to lower prices then sure. We can buy accessories separately for the reduction in cost of the phone if we need them. But we all know that won’t be the case.

From what i understand exactly this is planed for the portless iPhone that is supposed to happen as one of the lineup. If you want to charge it, like ever, you need to buy the wireless charger. Source Prosser.

 

[I7guy]

Or, more realistically, the price will stay exactly the same (or increase, due to the added value provided by minimalism) and people have the option of purchasing either a $30 pair of EarPods or a $300 pair of AirPods.

The price may go up, but it won't be due to minimalism. It will be due to the new tech in the phone. Maybe not providing earpods will offset the cost of the increase.

 

[1144557]

The price may go up, but it won't be due to minimalism. It will be due to the new tech in the phone. Maybe not providing earpods will offset the cost of the increase.

Exactly. This seems to be some novel new concept to some. Or people just expect more for less which is unreasonable.

Charge $100 for the larger display Max device with nothing different than a slightly bigger display and body and people pay it all day without thought, but you take away those $2-3 crappy headphones to pack in more tech than ever before and "everyone loses their minds" 🤡 (Heath Ledger tribute there, yes)

 

[aknabi]

Next step: No phone in the box 🤣. Just put a $50 voucher for AirPods in the box.

Hey, but you do get the Apple sticker... and for one of true Apple fan faith that's priceless!

 

[44267547]

So include Bluetooth ear buds instead like many Android phone makers do.

Ok? Then you would have incessant complaining that the phone price would in increase even more if Apple included ‘Bluetooth earbuds’, [which would be their AirPods.] The cost to include Bluetooth earbuds has to come from somewhere, that would be transferred to consumer to pay for. If the consumer wants Bluetooth earbuds, let them choose what they want in for an external purchase. Apple not including the wired earbuds would not be missed by consumers, it’s not a necessity, and it’s a matter of time that they should stop including the wired earpods.

 

[adamjackson]

I kind of feel bad for Apple Retail if this is true. Attachment rates at 10% or something like that where someone walks in to buy an $1100 phone and gets hustled into spending an extra $100 or more on headphones for said phone. I know retail isn't pushy but this is sort of like printers that come w/o USB cables.

 

[tann]

Think it would be good to continue including them, or for those who don't need them, at least offer credit or voucher towards them and (or Airpods).

For example if I come back to iOS from Android, I'd then be stuck with no dongle or headphones I could use with the phone!

 

[AppleTO]

Personally, I never touch the included headphones. I must have three or four pairs somewhere...

Speaking of a future port-less iPhone, would that mean they would have to include a wireless charger in the box? That will be interesting.

 

[chucker23n1]

I fail to understand how an expensive implementation of the LIDAR sensor would benefit the average consumer.

Well, we already know from the 2020 iPad Pro that ARKit takes advantage of LIDAR. It's both way faster (no calibration required) and more accurate.

Face ID also uses a front-facing LIDAR-like point cloud.

They can use this to improve things like portrait mode (better detect whether something is e.g. a person's hair, or part of the backdrop), improve people detection (adding a third dimension to the faces in Photos), etc.

It significantly improves accuracy and speed.

And beyond that? We only get specs like these from rumors. We don't typically get what Apple has planned in terms of applications. It's a bit of a bummer that so many specs tend to leak early, but the keynote can still be interesting because Apple might still find surprising, delightful ways for the actual app.

 

[mtrm]

If that price drop that was rumoured a few days ago is true, then I don’t mind the EarPods not coming bundled. Until before I got my AirPods Pro in November last year I was using some cheap Bluetooth earphones that, in my opinion, sounded better than the EarPods, so apart from the 2 times Inused the EarPods just to check what they sounded like, they’ve never seen much use anyway.
Just hoping that the price drop also happens in Europe and not only in the US...

 

[Killbynumbers]

Do people spending $1000 on a phone not already have a pair of headphones?

For me, yes, the ones that came in the box on previous iPhones and the current iPhone that I own. I also have a pair of AirPods that I bought a few years back that I haven't touched in at least a year. I wouldn't even think about buying AirPods Pro. Even if the phone doesn't come with EarPods, it wouldn't bother me. It just won't encourage me to spend money on AirPods. I'm sure there are more like me out there but not as many who would buy them.

I'm also an Android user and have never used an Android phone to listen to music. I've never even opened a pair of the included headsets on any Android phone since buying the first around 2012 or so. In the car, it's my iPhone.

 

[DrwMDvs]

Coming from a 6s+, a part of me would definitely be bummed. I have not gotten AirPods yet because I don't have a need (yet) and they just really don't last long. Hopefully they at least provide a coupon for a large discount..

 

[2013.1]

... Apple removing the lightning port next year ...

Doesn't it take much longer to charge an iPhone wirelessly?

 

[The Game 161]

Doesn't it take much longer to charge an iPhone wirelessly?

Doesn’t matter when most will charge when they are asleep...

 

[lkalliance]

Maybe put in a code or Voucher with each phone purchased to get a discount on AirPods or other earphones? I know people who would never spend on airpods, they always use the included earphones.

I just recently got the new iPhone SE, and I didn't have any lightning earpods before that, so it was good that they included them.

But to your point, I think I would be in that group you're talking about. After purchasing the SE, I've got enough room in the budget to buy AirPods, or (more likely) as the start of saving for an Apple Watch. If there were a coupon or a credit of some kind, I think there would be scope in my budget for both.

 

[1144557]

Doesn't it take much longer to charge an iPhone wirelessly?

Portless and wireless are 2 separate things.

The rumor as of now is there will be some sort of "smart connector" or magnetic charger. That is still technically portless; there is no hole in the device. Think something like the watch.

Wireless tech right now, the copper coil in the device, wont be enough alone likely.

Plus it wont solve diagnostic issues that need a cable.

 

[2013.1]

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.

Never heard of such a law in the 100M german speaking area. There are laws which forbid talking or messaging on a phone while driving.