Apple Gets Mocked For Ditching Charger & Headphones From iPhone 12 Box
By Izza Sofia, 14 Oct 2020
Image via Apple
Apple has confirmed that it will not be including a charging brick nor earbuds with the iPhone 12 lineup, citing environmental reasons.
The tech giant said it was able to significantly reduce carbon emissions by not having to make accessories, in addition to reducing the shipping box size of each iPhone sold. Doing this saves two million metric tons of carbon annually, Apple said.
Apple announced that there’s a new way to charge its iPhones: MagSafe. It is a circular magnet located at the back of the new phones, which enhances wireless charging.
The move surely has environmental benefits, but it has also drawn criticism from customers. “Damn, if removing the charger from the box has such a massive environmental impact, imagine the environmental impact of simply not buying a new iPhone,” Stan Schroeder tweeted.
The iPhone 12 box will also feature the Lightning to USB-C charging cable, instead of the classic USB-A cable. Steggy voiced out the irony of Apple trying to save the environment but releasing a USB cable that isn’t compatible with power adaptor that has already been developed.
“So, there’s millions of USB-A power bricks out in the world right now… But they ship iPhone with lightning to USB-C cable, which doesn’t plug into those old bricks,” he said.
A spokesperson for Apple said there are over two billion power adapters in the world, so continuing to include them in the box would be wasteful. The company also mentioned that more customers are switching to wireless charging methods.
“We are removing these items from the iPhone box, which reduces carbon emissions and avoids the mining and use of precious materials,” Apple’s spokesperson said. “Removing these also means a smaller, lighter iPhone box. We can fit up 70 percent more products on a shipping pallet—reducing carbon emissions in our global logistics chain.”
Apple is removing the charger and headphones from the iPhone 12 box, to cut down on its carbon footprint. #AppleEvent https://t.co/RvgHd31h24 pic.twitter.com/iY5m4l6kR2
— CNBC (@CNBC) October 13, 2020
Wait. What!? They are removing the charger and headphones from the box of the new iPhone 12 “for environmental reasons”!!! #appleevent I thought it was stingy to remove the lightning to 3.5mm jack last year. Hope they’re dropping the price accordingly!!! 😎
— Glen Mulcahy 📱 (@GlenBMulcahy) October 13, 2020
I get it.
— Sydney Simone (@SydneySimone1) October 13, 2020
They're trying to push everyone to use Bluetooth headphones (AirPods or Beats) and wireless chargers.
However, not everyone is up to speed. Charging hundreds of dollars for a phone and can't even include the charger. 😩
iPhone users are loyal! https://t.co/AItxgJNQx5
Damn, if removing the charger from the box has such a massive environmental impact, imagine the environmental impact of SIMPLY NOT BUYING A NEW IPHONE
— Stan Schroeder (@franticnews) October 13, 2020
— Professor (@_Kalpesh_lohar_) October 13, 2020
I love how Apple touts removing headphones & charger from the iPhone box, for the environment, but they kept the price "the same!" #AppleEvent spin
— Jason O'Grady ⚡️ (@JasonOGrady) October 13, 2020
So,
— Steggy (Jeff Stegner) (@Steggy) October 13, 2020
There's millions of USB-A power bricks out in the world right now
So Apple won't include one w/ iPhone
B/c you likely have a USB-A power adapter
So it's "for the environment"
But now they ship iPhone with lightning to USB-C cable
Which doesn't plug into those old bricks
Here’s a $1,000+ phone that supports fast charging with USB-C but urgh… the fast charger doesn’t come in the box… but you probably won’t have a USB-C charging brick so we’ll sell you one #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/S7VIm2v70A
— Nirave 尼拉夫 (@nirave) October 13, 2020
[via News.com.au, cover image via Apple]