Apple unveiled the iPhone 12 series later last year without a charger included in the box. Apparently, this hasn’t gone well among the users and consumer protection agencies. In a recent stint, Apple was fined by Procon-SP, the consumer protection agency in Sao Paulo in Brazil where the tech giant will have to pay a sum of $2 million.
According to Procon-SP, Apple failed to include a charger as well as it is charged with misleading advertising and including unfair terms. Apple on the other hand rolled out iPhone 12 series without any charger tagging it as an environmentally-driven concern. The tech giant did mention that since everybody now has a spare charger, removing one from the retail boxes would save the rare-earth materials and also reduce the size of the retail box.
On the contrary, critics have expressed their concerns that Apple’s move to exclude any charger doesn’t have much impact on the environment and that Apple did so to reduce shipping costs.
In any case, Procon-SP warned Apple to rectify its claims and include a charger on its iPhone 12 units. It did ask the tech giant to reduce the price tag of its devices in lieu of the exclusion of any chargers, however, Apple didn’t respond to it. If that’s not all, the $2 million fine also includes instances when Apple refused to repair any water-damaged iPhones even though it was subjected to resistance against water to a certain degree.
Then there are numerous instances wherein Apple has deliberately slowed down its iPhones with iOS updates pushing customers to buy newer models. Apple can still appeal to the fine although a $2 million fine is just a fraction of Apple’s finances.
