Apple is facing another legal spat in Brazil, this one with far bigger consequences: the nation has banned the sale of certain iPhones lacking an accessory.
In 2020, when Apple announced the iPhone 12 series, it made the controversial decision to remove the charging adapter and free earbuds from the retail package. Apple claimed that the decision was purely borne out of environmental concerns, and the company tried hard to convince consumers that the decision was part of its initiatives to address the massive e-waste problem. Nevertheless, Apple’s decision was met with scorn from consumers and ridicule from most of the competition. Two years on, it is now commonplace for even the most expensive smartphones to not feature a charging adapter as part of the retail package.
While most smartphone consumers seem to have come to terms with the reality of brands not including charging adapters and accessories with smartphones, consumer protection groups in several countries have pushed back against these arguably anti-consumer moves. France, for example, mandated Apple continue to provide French citizens with free EarPods even after the company stopped including them in the box.
