Brazil will fine Apple again for not including charger with iPhone 13

Posted:
in iPhone
The Brazilian consumer protection regulator says it will issue another fine to Apple over its failure to include a charger with the new iPhone 13.

An Apple charger
An Apple charger


Following Brazil's fining Apple $1.9 million for not including a charger with the iPhone 12, the company was forced to offer chargers to anyone requesting it. Now, the Procon-SP regulator plans to do the same over the iPhone 13.

According to local publication TechTudo, the $1.9 million fine that was issued in March 2021, was the maximum allowable under Brazilian law. The fine is also limited in how it cannot be applied again fewer than six months after issuing.

Six months later, Apple has new iPhone, and Brazil intends to fine the company again.

"The consumer already has the expectation that he [sic] will receive the charger along with the smartphone," Procon-SP executive director Fernando Capez told TechTudo (in translation). "Breaking this routine can also imply an unjustified price increase."

"For example, you sell the device with charger for X," he continued. "Then you sell only the device for X, which means that the company has increased the price."

"We can compare it to going to a supermarket," said Capez. "The customer bought a 400 grams product for R$20. Now, the same product continues to cost R$20, but with 300 grams. The company may decrease the quantity, but it is necessary to stamp this information on the packaging so that the consumer is aware."

Apple does state on its website that there is no charger included, but according to the Brazilian authorities, this is not sufficient. In translation, Capez said that local consumer law requires such information to be "ostentatious," not "camouflaged."

Procon-SP has previously accused Samsung of contravening the same consumer law, but it has not fined that company, and seemingly does not intend to. Capez says that Samsung avoided the fine by agreeing to provide Galaxy S21 chargers for free.

TechTudo's report is not clear on how Samsung's doing this avoided the fine, when Apple similarly provided chargers for the iPhone 12 range in the country.

There is a similar situation in France where local regulations still require Apple to include wired EarPods with all iPhone models.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 31
    I hope Brazil wins, chargers are like 3-4x the price out there than they are for Americans. It’s not fair at all.
    williamlondondarkvadercurtis hannah
  • Reply 2 of 31
    I hope Brazil wins, chargers are like 3-4x the price out there than they are for Americans. It’s not fair at all.
    Not sure why chargers are expensive in Brazil but you can use any old usb charger with an iPhone, and a country should not be able to decide what a product should and should not come with. If a consumer wants a charger with their device they should buy one or buy a different device that comes with one. It’s not like Apple pulled a fast one on people, it was common knowledge that Apple was going to do that and was even announced during their keynote. 
    rob53magman1979StrangeDaysviclauyycwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 3 of 31
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    I hope Brazil wins, chargers are like 3-4x the price out there than they are for Americans. It’s not fair at all.
    What's not fair? That you don't get what you don't pay for.
    Maybe you should be more concerned with the ridiculously high tariffs and import duties on the chargers.
    rob53magman1979viclauyycwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 4 of 31
    I have at least a dozen little USB chargers piled in my kitchen junk drawer, along with a half dozen pair of corded earphones. While Brazil fines Apple for not including usually unneeded chargers, might the EU eventually levy fines for including them?

    Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
    lorca2770rob53magman1979bloggerblogwilliamlondonStrangeDaysbaconstangchiaexceptionhandlerviclauyyc
  • Reply 5 of 31
    mike1 said:
    I hope Brazil wins, chargers are like 3-4x the price out there than they are for Americans. It’s not fair at all.
    What's not fair? That you don't get what you don't pay for.
    Maybe you should be more concerned with the ridiculously high tariffs and import duties on the chargers.
    Charging a phone is an essential process needed to make the phone work. Not selling a phone with all the necessary components is strange indeed. Not everyone has a dozen USB chargers in their kitchen junk drawers waiting for use, which is probably more likely in poorer countries. 
    williamlondondarkvadercurtis hannah
  • Reply 6 of 31
    France, isn‘t that i the same European Union that pushes to reduce waste by standardizing connectors for chargers? I see how that fits with the obligation to include the gazillionth set of headphones. Good one,
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 31
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    Mondain said:
    mike1 said:
    I hope Brazil wins, chargers are like 3-4x the price out there than they are for Americans. It’s not fair at all.
    What's not fair? That you don't get what you don't pay for.
    Maybe you should be more concerned with the ridiculously high tariffs and import duties on the chargers.
    Charging a phone is an essential process needed to make the phone work. Not selling a phone with all the necessary components is strange indeed. Not everyone has a dozen USB chargers in their kitchen junk drawers waiting for use, which is probably more likely in poorer countries. 
    Then why can manufacturers not include batteries in products? Can’t operate without them. Does Brazil require batteries in every product that needs them? I’m sure Brazil has enough places that sell USB chargers and people who can buy iPhones know where to find them. Brazil might be a poor country but not iPhone buyers. Just like in the US there are poor people who can’t purchase anything much less an iPhone. 
    bloggerblogStrangeDayschiaviclauyycwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 8 of 31
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    $4 million a year ($1.9 every six months) sounds like chump change to Apple. Keep the charger separate.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 31
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    I hope Brazil wins, chargers are like 3-4x the price out there than they are for Americans. It’s not fair at all.
    So you're saying Apple should just increase the price of the phone in your country to include a charger that many others already have?

    Makes sense. :/
    viclauyycwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 10 of 31
    mcdavemcdave Posts: 1,927member
    What does Brazil know or care about ecological responsibility? They’ll be the country that taxes the world for clean air, if they’re not already.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 31
    We have at least half a dozen Apple chargers sitting in drawers, many never unwrapped or used. Ending the waste is a-ok with me. The world will keep turning
    viclauyycwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 12 of 31
    rob53 said:
    Mondain said:
    mike1 said:
    I hope Brazil wins, chargers are like 3-4x the price out there than they are for Americans. It’s not fair at all.
    What's not fair? That you don't get what you don't pay for.
    Maybe you should be more concerned with the ridiculously high tariffs and import duties on the chargers.
    Charging a phone is an essential process needed to make the phone work. Not selling a phone with all the necessary components is strange indeed. Not everyone has a dozen USB chargers in their kitchen junk drawers waiting for use, which is probably more likely in poorer countries. 
    Then why can manufacturers not include batteries in products? Can’t operate without them. Does Brazil require batteries in every product that needs them? I’m sure Brazil has enough places that sell USB chargers and people who can buy iPhones know where to find them. Brazil might be a poor country but not iPhone buyers. Just like in the US there are poor people who can’t purchase anything much less an iPhone. 
    Generally in the past batteries leaked once they exceeded their shelf life so including them in product boxes was usually avoided.
    Mondaindarkvaderwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 31
    Mondain said:
    mike1 said:
    I hope Brazil wins, chargers are like 3-4x the price out there than they are for Americans. It’s not fair at all.
    What's not fair? That you don't get what you don't pay for.
    Maybe you should be more concerned with the ridiculously high tariffs and import duties on the chargers.
    Charging a phone is an essential process needed to make the phone work. Not selling a phone with all the necessary components is strange indeed. Not everyone has a dozen USB chargers in their kitchen junk drawers waiting for use, which is probably more likely in poorer countries. 
    I seriously doubt that people in poorer countries are buying iPhone 13s en mass.  We have probably 10 USB chargers for the 2 phones we have.  We certainly don't need anymore.

    As far as @soundsinmotion is concerned, I would rail against your countries ridiculous tariffs for goods, not the company making them.

    viclauyycwatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 31
    Maybe the EU and Brazil should sue each other?
    And all the proceeds would go to preserving the rainforest...
    viclauyycwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 15 of 31
    This is so ass-backwards. I want companies (like Apple) to stop adding unnecessary components in their packaging. As when, for example, I already have a USB-C charger. I may not need another one, so don't force me to buy it!
    chiawatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 16 of 31
    hexclockhexclock Posts: 1,243member
    Damned if you do…sued if you don’t. 
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 17 of 31
    chadbagchadbag Posts: 1,999member
    Generally in the past batteries leaked once they exceeded their shelf life so including them in product boxes was usually avoided.
    Generally when batteries are included they  are not installed, but are shrink wrapped and separate,and most alkaline batteries have a shelf life of several years (or multiple several years ;) ).   I've not ever had a new product with batteries in the box have leaky batteries when the box was opened.  

    So the same logic that says that an iPhone must have a charger included because it is necessary to teh operation of the device, would lead to the same conclusion with products that require batteries to operate.  
    viclauyycwatto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 18 of 31
    I think there's a point that need a little amplification: those actions—wether you deem them fair or not—are from PROCON-SP. That isn't Brazilian consumer protection regulator. It's just for the state of São Paulo. Even though it's the most populous state in Brazil, the narrative as presented is alike to to call a California law enactment an US government determination.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 31
    bsimpsen said:
    I have at least a dozen little USB chargers piled in my kitchen junk drawer, along with a half dozen pair of corded earphones. While Brazil fines Apple for not including usually unneeded chargers, might the EU eventually levy fines for including them?

    Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
    Was thinking the same thing when I saw the title.
    watto_cobrajony0
  • Reply 20 of 31
    I wonder how many iPhones Apple will sell in Brazil. for $1.9million that's a few thousand devices to cover this pittance of a fine. I guess the saying is true. "Only Nut's come from Brazil." ;-)
    watto_cobra
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