Brazil on Tuesday (Sep 6) banned Apple from selling its iPhones without offering chargers, accusing it of selling incomplete products to its consumers, Reuters reports.
Brazil’s Justice Ministry fined the group around €2.3 million, ordered it to stop selling iPhone 12s and later models, and suspended sales of any iPhone that didn’t come with a charger.
According to the authorities, this is a “deliberately discriminatory practice against consumers”. Apple’s argument that the removal of the charger was intended to limit greenhouse gas emissions was dismissed.
No more charger since 2020
Since October 2020, Apple stopped providing chargers in the boxes of its iPhones, in order to reduce the ecological footprint, especially during transport. Now only the charging cable is provided, and no longer the adapter. However, iPhones are the only smartphones to use Lightning technology, an Apple-specific connection, used since 2012.
At the same time, these Lightning ports will most likely soon be history: Apple seems to have plans to bring its iPhones in line with other electronic devices, now using the USB-C system. This is the case for other smartphones and tablets, but also Macbooks, since 2015.
The European Union is also pressuring the American giant in this regard. The European Commission voted, last June, the obligation that all smartphones, tablets, consoles and cameras use this USB-C charger by 2024.
Source: BFM TV
