In Brazil, Apple was fined 19.3 million euros for removing the charger from iPhone boxes. The firm will appeal.
Apple was fined around 19.3 million euros for removing the charger from iPhone boxes. As explained Reutersa court in the state of Sao Paolo in Brazil imposed a financial penalty of 100 million reais on the tech giant which recently launched its iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro.
The news agency recalls that the company was being sued by the AMBCC, an association of borrowers, consumers and taxpayers. It considered that the fact that Apple sells its flagship product, the iPhone, without a charger, constituted an abusive practice.
Apple’s contested eco-responsible speech
Remember that Apple justifies its decision to remove chargers from iPhone boxes by explaining that this reduces its environmental impact. Indeed, this is supposed to reduce the production of chargers (and therefore the resulting pollution), but also to make the transport of products from factories to points of sale more efficient. As the packaging is less bulky, we can put more in a container for example.
Other brands now apply the same policy – with the same eco-responsible justifications – like Samsung or Google. Recently, we learned that Oppo was also considering removing the charger from its smartphone boxes by next year. This question is still subject to debate since some believe that it is a decision less motivated by the environmental crisis than by the lure of profit. The removal of the charging blocks allows manufacturers to sell them separately with a good margin.
Apple will appeal
For the Court of Sao Paolo, ” it is obvious that, under the guise of a “green initiative”, the accused [Apple] imposes on the consumer the compulsory purchase of charger adapters which were previously supplied with the product “. The Cupertino company, for its part, has already indicated that it will appeal this court decision. Otherwise, it would again have to supply the chargers with the iPhones it sells in Brazil.
Several questions remain unanswered. Do the other manufacturers who have removed the chargers from their packaging also risk being prosecuted? Could such court decisions take place in other countries?
Remember that in Europe, it is also time to reduce the waste generated by the new technologies market. Thus, in France, it is no longer mandatory to integrate headphones into smartphone boxes while USB-C is becoming the official universal charging port for a large number of devices on the Old Continent. In this regard, iPhones have until 2024 to switch to USB-C.
To follow us, we invite you to download our Android and iOS application. You can read our articles, files, and watch our latest YouTube videos.