iPhone 12: Chinese students sue Apple for lack of chargers

In 2020, Apple had stopped including EarPods and wall chargers in boxes containing iPhones, choosing only to put a USB-C Lightning cable in the packaging. According to the firm at the apple, this drastic decision would be motivated by the desire to reduce carbon emissions and preserve raw materials.

However, it seems that not everyone believes in this desire of Apple to preserve the environment. Indeed, five Chinese students recently sued Apple in the Beijing Internet court, to force it to provide a wall charger as well as to pay the infinitesimally small sum of 100 yuan, or about 13 euros.

According to these students, Apple’s justifications are window dressing because it might, in fact, have removed the Earpods and chargers just to make even more profit.

Apple would be motivated by profit and not by preserving the environment

The Chinese students criticized Apple for not providing a charger with the iPhone 12. The case was reported by the Shanghai Law Journal, which indicates that one of the students, Xiaofang, had vehemently pointed out that the lack of chargers did not serve to preserve the environment but was a well thought out plan by the firm to force its customers to purchase its products separately.

To support his thesis, Xiaofang recalled that the cable that Apple had put in the packaging was a USB-C Lightning. However, the latter is not compatible with the wall chargers previously included with Apple devices. This means that customers should definitely purchase a USB-C compatible charger or MagSafe charger if they don’t already have one.

There has already been a precedent in terms of infinitesimal damages

Therefore, Xiaofang claims that Apple knowingly set aside wall chargers to promote its Magsafe chargers. The latter being a range of magnetic, or wireless, chargers that charge your phone without having to plug it in. Thus, Apple would simply act under the guise of environmental preservation not to include the charger directly in the packaging and force buyers to obtain it separately.

In addition, some believe that Apple’s decision to no longer put EarPods and chargers would be a way to save money and make a profit as the transition to 5G could increase the production costs of iPhones. . In any case, the trial is ongoing. Regarding the 100 yuan requested by the students, it would be damage and interest for breach of contract and litigation costs.

Note that this kind of business has already had a precedent. A Chinese student sued the Shanghai Disney Resort in 2019 for 50 yuan (around 6 euros) for not letting customers bring food into the park. Disney conceded and agreed to pay. Nonetheless, in the present case, an Apple representative argued that it was clearly stated on the packaging that no charger would be included.