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

[Phone Junky]

I use my EarPods every day. iPhone in my pocket and the EarPods wire running down inside my shirt. No wire hanging around to snag and the remote is way better than the limited features on the AirPods.(volume control is a must for me) No batteries to charge (and wear out after a couple of years) and always ready to go. I say this as a former AirPods owner.

 

[compwiz1202]

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.

Exactly either free basic lightning or $$$ off another pair.

 

[satchmo]

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.



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.

Clearly some haven't worked in marketing.
Sure this may eat into Apple's profit margin, but seriously is Apple hurting financially?

Many here are early adopters. They'll embrace the latest and don't hesitate to spend a couple of hundred dollars on Airpods or Airpod pros.
But what does the elimination of wired earphones say to the average consumer?
That Apple is being petty and nickel and diming users when they're charging $1000 for a phone?
It just sends the wrong message. Perception is reality.

If they want to eliminate the earbuds, then make a compelling offer. Provide some kind of rebate on Airpods.

 

[Smearbrick]

Will this be considered as a brave and revolutionary move by Apple? Do I feel a misuse of the word “innovative” coming on?

To be honest, I don’t use the included EarPods. As far as $30 earbuds go, they kind of suck, and are unusable across other devices.

 

[compwiz1202]

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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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

Plus it's on the customer to not buy every year. They can't really control what else is in the box unless there is a choice of which accessories. And I'm sure most people trade in their old iPhones and don't heave them in the garbage. And then they are refurbed and resold.
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The earphones that comes out of the box with the iPhone 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 airpod's battery. I already have a phone and a laptop to charge, that's enough for me.

I don't even like headphones that go in my ear or wireless. Wish I could find a moderately priced lightning over the ear model.
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Clearly some haven't worked in marketing.
Sure this may eat into Apple's profit margin, but seriously is Apple hurting financially?

Many here are early adopters. They'll embrace the latest and don't hesitate to spend a couple of hundred dollars on Airpods or Airpod pros.
But what does the elimination of wired earphones say to the average consumer?
That Apple is being petty and nickel and diming users when they're charging $1000 for a phone?
It just sends the wrong message. Perception is reality.

If they want to eliminate the earbuds, then make a compelling offer. Provide some kind of rebate on Airpods.

This is the same argument about the iCloud storage in another thread. They should just up the free storage and roll it into the cost of the devices so it doesn't seem like you keep endlessly paying for storage.

 

[jarman92]

I can kind of understand some manufacturers skipping when they are using a mass adopted standard (USB-C), but Apple skipping these lightning headphones is ‘effectively’ forcing a sale from Apple if the user needs a wired pair.

I‘d love to see some numbers on this, but I’m almost 100% positive there are far more Lightning headphones in the world than USB-C. And the vast majority of consumers who will buy an iPhone this year already have at least one pair of compatible headphones, whether that’s Lightning, Bluetooth, or even 3.5mm with an adapter.

 

[1144557]

Clearly some haven't worked in marketing.
Sure this may eat into Apple's profit margin, but seriously is Apple hurting financially?

Many here are early adopters. They'll embrace the latest and don't hesitate to spend a couple of hundred dollars on Airpods or Airpod pros.
But what does the elimination of wired earphones say to the average consumer?
That Apple is being petty and nickel and diming users when they're charging $1000 for a phone?
It just sends the wrong message. Perception is reality.

If they want to eliminate the earbuds, then make a compelling offer. Provide some kind of rebate on Airpods.

Riggggght. People aren't going to buy iPhones because they dont have the $5 equivalent earbuds.

We heard this very same argument with the headphone adapter, everyone moaned and complained nickel and dime Apple sucks, and still upgraded regardless and that all went away havent heard of it since.

Whatever you are smoking you need a LOT less of it. This wont hurt their sales one bit and they know it; that is why they are doing it. They would not sacrifice sales for the 50 cents or whatever it costs them per unit. They arent flying by the seat of their pants making decisions.

 

[jarman92]

Clearly some haven't worked in marketing.
Sure this may eat into Apple's profit margin, but seriously is Apple hurting financially?

Many here are early adopters. They'll embrace the latest and don't hesitate to spend a couple of hundred dollars on Airpods or Airpod pros.
But what does the elimination of wired earphones say to the average consumer?
That Apple is being petty and nickel and diming users when they're charging $1000 for a phone?
It just sends the wrong message. Perception is reality.

If they want to eliminate the earbuds, then make a compelling offer. Provide some kind of rebate on Airpods.

Isn’t that exactly what the article says Apple is going to do? Provide some sort of AirPods offer?

 

[kalafalas]

I think this is a really good move, one they should have done a while ago. Most people already own a few pairs of (probably way better) headphones and if they get a new one in the box it’ll just become a waste of plastic in the trash. They can also probably make the retail box a lot smaller, reducing the carbon footprint of shipping.

 

[Ultramove69]

I'm not bothered by this at all. I intend to use my AirPods Pro with whatever future device I migrate to.

 

[I7guy]

...They arent flying by the seat of their pants making decisions.

While Apple can and has made some bad decisions, I believe people do really think that Apple does fly by the seat of their pants and doesn't think things through. I can only bet that some are going to make outrageous statements regarding this, similar to the headphone jack.

Personally, I think it's a good move.

 

[NickName99]

Seems like a great way to reduce waste. I haven’t used the included earbuds for years.

 

[1144557]

While Apple can and has made some bad decisions, I believe people do really think that Apple does fly by the seat of their pants and doesn't think things through. I can only bet that some are going to make outrageous statements regarding this, similar to the headphone jack.

Personally, I think it's a good move.

Oh of course they make a TON of bad decisions that are universally controversial- Macbook keyboards were near-universally hated; ike 99% to 1% if that many liked it. That was a "bad" decision.

And that STILL didnt kill Macbook sales to bolster my prior point that this wont hurt iphone sales.

But they are packing in a TON more tech this year, it is either trim costs or increase price. There is no choice C there.

 

[SAIRUS]

Margins...

 

[CPL593H]

Well this would be fun. iPhone with lightning and no included headphones, iPad Pro with USB-C, and MacBook with 3.5mm. I wouldn’t care if they just had the same port options.

 

[yojason]

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.

I’m sure it would also be nice for Apple Store employees if the next iPhone box was considerably smaller than the current packaging. With all of the different carriers, color choices and storage capacities, there must be an incredibly large number of different iPhone models to search through when I ask for an 11 Pro, Gold, 64gb, T-Mobile phone.

 

[jlozoya]

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.

This. However, this is a consumer behavior that needs to change not Apple, as there will always be people who actually need a new device that year. As a previous annual iPhone upgrader since the 4S, I have now held on to my X for 3 generations and am only slightly interested in what the 12 may offer over it. Using our devices for as long as possible is actually good for the planet and what we get out of each iterative update has diminishing returns.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Not surprised. I probably have 10+ untouched sets. Wasted money on Apple's part to include them.

 

[bodonnell202]

Makes no difference to me. I’ve never used the included headphones for any iPhone I’ve owned.

 

[m4mario]

Actually this will reduce e-waste. Something Europe is very concerned about. I would even say don't include mobile charger and cable. Reduce the price of the iPhone and give people the option to buy them separately at a discount, such that if customers buy the cables, then the price of the iPhone will come back to its original cost.

 

[Drogba11]

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.

Makes sense to you maybe but not everyone. I for one like having the extra pairs of wired headphones because they don’t need to be charged and I can bring them on trips and don’t worry about them getting broken like my AirPods. Jesus, listening to some of you people on here...if I am paying $1200 a year for a phone you better believe I want my included headphones. The never ending circle jerk of Apple defenders on here never ceases to amaze me.

 

[russell_314]

Including a charger and headphones in every box is an environmental issue. Apple is under extreme pressure from the EU to reduce e waste and this seems like an obvious move. Those headphones usually stay in the wrapper and who needs another charger after you already have five or six.

 

[1144557]

Makes sense to you maybe but not everyone. I for one like having the extra pairs of wired headphones because they don’t need to be charged and I can bring them on trips and don’t worry about them getting broken like my AirPods. Jesus, listening to some of you people on here...if I am paying $1200 a year for a phone you better believe I want my included headphones. The never ending circle jerk of Apple defenders on here never ceases to amaze me.

So you would rather spend $1250 next year for the 5g/120hz more expensive components than go on Amazon and get a $10 extra set? 🤔

If you have kept up in the convo here, more "stuff" in the phone isnt free. 5g parts and more advanced displays (the most expensive part in the phone already) have real increased costs associated with them. Costs have to be offset somewhere per unit; and this is one way rather than jacking up prices. And Apple simply wouldn't raise it $10 to over cost, it will be minimum $50

You are more than free to keep your current phone and not buy one though too; speak with your wallet.

This is the same tired argument we hear time and time again. Samsung made an Ultra device and people complain how expensive it is; yes complained about how Galaxy devices werent using top specs. You simply cant have it both ways- you cant have better and better components without price increases unless costs can be trimmed. There are many other devices available too

No company is going to take a margin hit on your behalf just because. And anticipating "buh Apple makes so much dey soooooo gweedy!" look back at iphone profit margins over the years; they are lower now than the iphone 6 series and before, yet no one complained then. https://wccftech.com/apple-iphone-profits-declining/

 

[NickName99]

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.

I would love it if they just had the phone in the box. Maybe a USB-C to Lightning cable. It would be an enormous amount of paper, plastic and wiring saved, not to mention fuel saved from being able to fit twice the phones in the same amount of shipping space.

They could figure something out with electronic vouchers in case folks needed a USB-C charger and/or headphones.

 

[Matthew.H]

I can see the advantage from a space saving point of view plus some people will already have spare cables. The customers that need them should be able to get them at a heavy discount when purchasing a phone/or include a voucher with the phone. In this case the charger/cable and earphones shouldn't be more than $20 after discount (Especially if the phone prices stay the same) . Cables and chargers cost very little to make and the prices Apple normally charge are extortionate.