Apple forced to include charger with iPhone in Sao Paulo
Apple will be required to bundle a power adapter with iPhone models sold in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, despite removing the accessory from the box elsewhere.
-l.jpg)
Credit: Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsider
Procon-SP, Sao Paulo's state consumer protection agency, has decided to require Apple to provide a charger with iPhone 12 models to customers who request them, the agency said in a press release Wednesday.
Earlier in 2020, Procon-SP asked Apple why it was no longer providing charging accessories with its new iPhones. Apple's answer -- that most consumers already have charging bricks and removing them would reduce carbon emissions -- didn't satisfy the consumer protection agency.
In its release Wednesday, Procon-SP added that a charging brick is "an essential part" of using an iPhone or other product. By not packaging a charger with its devices, the agency said that Apple is violating the Brazilian Consumer Defense Code.
Additionally, the agency said that Apple did not sufficiently demonstrate the environmental gains made by removing the charger, and did not make it clear enough that a charger wasn't included with new iPhones in its marketing.
Although the decision only applies to the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil's National Consumer Secretary is said to be mulling a similar move at the federal level.
The situation is similar to the one in France, where Apple is forced by law to include EarPods with its iPhone models. Because Apple reduced the size of its iPhone packaging, it's doing so by including the actual iPhone inside of another package with the bundled EarPods. It's likely that similar packaging will be used in Sao Paulo, and possibly elsewhere in Brazil.
Apple announced that it would stop packaging EarPods and chargers with its iPhones back in October, citing environmental benefits and the fact that there are currently two billion Apple power adapters out in the wild already.
-l.jpg)
Credit: Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsider
Procon-SP, Sao Paulo's state consumer protection agency, has decided to require Apple to provide a charger with iPhone 12 models to customers who request them, the agency said in a press release Wednesday.
Earlier in 2020, Procon-SP asked Apple why it was no longer providing charging accessories with its new iPhones. Apple's answer -- that most consumers already have charging bricks and removing them would reduce carbon emissions -- didn't satisfy the consumer protection agency.
In its release Wednesday, Procon-SP added that a charging brick is "an essential part" of using an iPhone or other product. By not packaging a charger with its devices, the agency said that Apple is violating the Brazilian Consumer Defense Code.
Additionally, the agency said that Apple did not sufficiently demonstrate the environmental gains made by removing the charger, and did not make it clear enough that a charger wasn't included with new iPhones in its marketing.
Although the decision only applies to the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil's National Consumer Secretary is said to be mulling a similar move at the federal level.
The situation is similar to the one in France, where Apple is forced by law to include EarPods with its iPhone models. Because Apple reduced the size of its iPhone packaging, it's doing so by including the actual iPhone inside of another package with the bundled EarPods. It's likely that similar packaging will be used in Sao Paulo, and possibly elsewhere in Brazil.
Apple announced that it would stop packaging EarPods and chargers with its iPhones back in October, citing environmental benefits and the fact that there are currently two billion Apple power adapters out in the wild already.
Comments
Mug over here immediately bought one, played right into the corporate machine that’s is Apple....
Yeah makes perfect sense.
I hope Apple ups the price of iPhones in Brazil to compensate for the mandated charger.
As for the state o São Paulo (translated from Portuguese to Saint Paul, no idea where Sao Paolo came from), its policies are on the opposite side of the spectrum from federal ones. Besides, the Consumer Protection Agency here is truly independent, and is just following laws that does protect uninformed (or misinformed) costumers, specially those with more money than brains.
And I can’t find fault on the reasoning from the agency. I have yet to see Apple break down the numbers about the environmental impact. I do believe there is a positive effect, but when you have to argue over laws, we do need to see the specifics, to strike the best balance about environmental concerns and consumer rights.
The vast majority of iPhone 12 buyers will also have plenty of existing cables and compatible chargers. The addition of the lightning to USB-C cable in the box provides the option to plug into a recent MacBook that many may not have already, and it doesn’t implicitly require an extra charging brick.
It is reasonable for the exclusion of the charger to be clearly explained to the user, as is the idea that everything necessary for correct usage of the device actually be included in the box.
It's logical for Apple to want to spin the move as some kind of environmental move but the reality is that it is a hard sell given what has gone before. More than 10 years of shipping the same woefully underpowered chargers in exactly the same scenario as now. They also made a massive profit off dongles during various 'transitions' and the environment didn't take much prominence then, and they charged a pretty penny for those.
There were a few options open to Apple to do this in a better way. They chose the one that probably earned them more. I can't argue with that but that has little to do with the environment or consumer protection.