With the introduction of the latest iPhone 12 family, Apple has officially stopped including a power brick and its EarPods earphones in iPhone boxes “as part of our efforts to reach our environmental goals”. But it appears as if the Cupertino giant might be required to include a power adapter with every iPhone sold in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.
The public agency Procon-SP contacted Apple in October and asked the company to explain why it was no longer providing charging accessories with its new iPhones. Apple responded by touting the environmental benefits of no longer including a power adapter with iPhones, noting that many users already have spare chargers, plus the move reduces carbon emissions and avoids the mining and use of rare-earth elements.
The agency wasn’t impressed.
In a press release published today, it explained that Apple’s decision was against the Brazilian Consumer Defense Code because a power adapter was an “essential part” of the product. In their opinion, Apple had not sufficiently demonstrated that removing chargers from iPhone boxes would benefit the environment. Furthermore, Apple had failed to properly communicate to users that the charger is no longer included in the box.
In a somewhat similar fashion, France recently forced Apple by law to bundle its EarPods earphones with all iPhone models sold in the country. “Because Apple reduced the size of its iPhone packaging, it’s doing so by including the actual iPhone inside of another package with the bundled EarPods,” AppleInsider explains.
It’s unclear whether Apple might be required to use similar iPhone packaging in Sao Paulo and elsewhere in Brazil and whether the agency’s supervisory board might fine the company.