Apple stopped bundling the charger with the iPhone, starting with the 2020 flagship iPhone 12 series. The move came as a shocker to many; the company claimed it was done for environmental reasons. By removing the charger from the box, the size of the iPhone box was reduced drastically as well.
However, by removing the charger from the box, users are now required to shell an additional $19 (USD) on the power brick. A report from Daily Mail suggests that Apple has, till date, saved nearly $6.5 billion (USD) by not bundling the charger (and wired EarPods) in the box.
Price of iPhone continues to increase
Also, the price of the iPhone 12, at release, was $29 (USD) higher than the iPhone 11. Apple removed necessary accessories from the iPhone but also increased the price. It is believed that the higher price was due to new 5G – popularly known as 5G tax. The current generation iPhone 13 continues to be priced at $829 (USD).
The removal of charger and earphones from the box has allowed Apple to save nearly 40% on shipping charges. In terms of space, the company is able to pack 70% more phones on a transport plane. It is unclear how these savings are used by the iPhone maker.
Since the removal of the charger from the box, Apple is believed to have shipped nearly 190 million units of different iPhone models. The company now only sells one charger – the 20W USB-C power adapter which costs $19 (USD). The company is saving on shipping charges and bundling of charger and at the same time, making more money from seperate charger sales.
Previously, Apple used to pack the 5W charger in the box with most of its iPhones. The slow charging speed would force most iPhone users to purchase a higher watt charger from Apple. Such a practice was not friendly to the environment and neither to the users.
