Brazilian consumer protection agency says removal of iPhone charger not justified

The iPhone 12 box neither includes earbuds nor a charger. Only a USB-C to Lightning cable is shipped with the phones. Apple claims that this move is aimed at lowering carbon emissions and electronic waste associated with the manufacturing of these products and the larger boxes needed to accommodate them. The decision also applies to the iPhone 11, XR, and SE.

The company believes most consumers already own these accessories and it doesn’t need to add to environmental waste by including wall chargers and earphones with every purchase. 

São Paulo-based consumer defense foundation Procon-SP says Apple has failed to demonstrate that removal of chargers would lead to environmental gains. The agency also says that although Apple claims that this decision was taken to benefit the environment, the company hasn’t come up with a plan to collect and recycle old devices. 

Additionally, Procon-SP says that a charger is an essential accessory and when consumers buy a new smartphone, they expect to get one, but Apple hasn’t made it abundantly clear in its marketing material that its new iPhones come without power adapters.

And lastly, the foundation says that Apple has failed to assure that the use of old chargers wouldn’t compromise the safety of the charging process. Apple also hasn’t said if the use of third party chargers would void the warranty, something which Procon-SP fears it could use as a reason to refuse repairs.

If Apple’s conduct is found to be in violation of the law, a fine can be issued by the Brazilian government.