Apple has stopped including a power brick in the box of all its current iPhone models on sale. The company announced the move at its iPhone event in October. At the event, the company launched the iPhone 12, the iPhone 12 Mini, the iPhone 12 Pro, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
The state consumer protection agency Procon-SP of Sao Paulo has asked Apple to provide a charger to all the customers that ask for it. Apple does not ship the charger in the box of iPhones anywhere in the world.
Unsatisfying answers by Apple
Procon SP had questioned Apple regarding the intention behind the removal of the charger from the box of iPhones. Apple of course answered by saying that by not including the charging brick in the box will help reduce the “carbon emissions” electronics make. However, the agency is not satisfied by Apple’s justification of removing the charging brick from the box.
Procon SP has said that Apple’s reasons behind removing the charger from the box does not satisfy the consumer protection agency. Since then, the agency has stated in its press release that the charging brick is “an essential part” of phones (iPhone in this case). The agency added that the Cupertino based company is “violating” the Brazilian Consumer Defense Code by not including shipping the iPhone with a charger.
The Brazilian consumer protection agency also added that Apple does not clearly mention that the charger is not included in the box in any of its marketing. Unsatisfying answers by the Cupertino based company in regards to justifying its move reportedly do not “sufficiently demonstrate” the environmental benefits.
Apple is also in trouble in France for not including earphones in the box. The company has been forced by law to include its wired earphones Earpods in the box with all its iPhones. In Brazil, the case of chargers is only limited to Sao Paulo at the moment, however the National Consumer Secretary is reportedly looking at making it a federal matter as well.
