As in France with the case of headphones and the law that obliges manufacturers to put a "hands-free kit" in the cell phone box, in Spain Procon-SP decided to charge the company for the charger that is no longer coming iPhone 11, XR and SE packaging. In addition, as already announced during the launch event, the "apple" will not include chargers in the box for the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
During an interview with the newspaper "O Globo", the executive director of Procon-SP, Fernando Capez, said:
"The separate sale of the device and charger is an innovation that can be an abusive practice, as one needs the other to be useful."
According to Fernando, Apple could be practicing tying when selling its cell phones without the charger. Now Apple has 72 hours to answer the following questions raised by Procon-SP:
- Why did the company decide to sell the iPhone without the plug adapter in the box?
- What is the price of an official charger purchased separately?
- How long does the battery take to recharge with this charger?
- How will the warranty work if the customer purchases the iPhone and the accessory on different dates?
- Can the consumer use other chargers with the iPhone?
iPhone charger sold by Apple in Spain costs R$219
Although Apple has not yet formally answered the questions asked by Proncon-SP, the company already has the answer to these questions publicly. According to Apple, the reason why the company stopped including the charger in the box of its cell phones was due to the fact that its customers already have chargers, thus making the accessory "unnecessary". According to "apple", the action is the most correct to be taken to reduce the generation of electronic waste and prevent further impacts.
Evidently, it is difficult to swallow Apple's excuse given above as a justification for removing the charger from the iPhone case. Obviously, the company considered in its words only existing customers, but what about new ones? In addition, considering that an iPhone user buys new cell phones, he will have to buy a new cable in addition to the charger, since most iPhones (excluding the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max) have a charger with a USB-A connector. (Now iPhones 12 comes with USB-C cable).
Apple currently sells the USB-C charger for 20W iPhones for R$219. The product has a 1 year warranty against manufacturing defects starting from the date of purchase according to the website.
iPhone VP of Marketing Kaiann Drance says:
"You can still use your old Lightning cables and any of the plug adapters that work… we encourage you to use those too."
As for the possible damage caused by third-party chargers to a user's iPhone, Apple says the iPhone's battery "is designed to maintain up to 80% of its original capacity for 500 full charge cycles." If the battery is defective within 1 year, the company will replace it.
What do you think of Apple's attitude towards its consumers and future customers? Comment below and share your opinion with us!
