I honestly can't be mad at this point because what they SHOULD do is sell cables in bulk packaging to the Apple store, and then when they sell a phone they say "Do you need a USB cable? Free with the phone." If they say "No we're okay I've got hundreds of them by now" no problem, if they say "Yeah in fact can I get two?" Sure. Same with chargers. Of course this is Apple we're talking about, so they're probably $69.99 each.
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After being forced to standardise to usb c and be responsible for some of the e-waste it produces, apple has finally relented.
They fought tooth and nail against the EU regulations to force charging standards. I don't care if they up sell cables to some people; most people will reuse what they have and thats the whole point of the regulations.
Regulation works.
They transitioned most of their devices to usb save the iPhone before the EU legislation went into effect.
Apple caught shit for going USB-C only on their laptops years ago.
Now, Apple might argue that they’re being environmentally conscious by reducing packaging waste. That’s a fair point,
It isn't... That's like not flushing the toilet in a public bathroom to "save water"
Flushing two toilets because there is all the packaging and shipping for the separate apple branded cables.
Apple: As long as we can gaslight you into thinking we're classy, we can do whatever the fuck we want
They should remove the USB-C ports, so you have to send it back to Apple for charging
Final step would be to remove the phone from the box. They would do world a favor.
It's fine if they reduce the price accordingly.
If it's still the same price after they take the cable out, it was never about reducing waste to begin with.
Knowing Apple, that wouldn't surprise me in the slightest, which is why I never have and never will own any of their products.
Adjusted for inflation, last years 15 was $827.
The base 16 is $800 and a separate USB C cable from Apple is about $20 for 1m and $30 for 2m.
So, if you buy a phone and cable, you’re spending about as much as you did last year, adjusting for inflation.
I don’t know why I just wasted all that time calculating that. I need to get a life.
Why even have a box at this point? Just put the phone in the mail by itself, it's durable right?
As long as a standard "unblessed" usb-c cable will work fully with the phone it's non-issue.
Important to note that they removed the cable from the AirPod 4’s box, not the iPhone’s. They are also not the first company to do this.
Next up: you have to buy the box first, which is empty. Then you can buy the phone. No box? No phone.
And then you'll buy the phone but the screen is sold separately.
No, that would make it too easy to do third-party screen repairs. Apple wouldn't allow that...
Next step: Apple removes hardware from box and ships aspiration only.
For me this would mostly be a non-issue. I’ve got enough extra USB-C cables that I don’t even unwrap the ones Apple has been shipping. Not to mention that I’m pretty used to charging my AirPods via MagSafe these days anyway.
If I send you an address can you ship some extras, mine seem to die or you get ones that are only 4inches long with something. Throw in that now many devices only have USB C on both ends so your last phone that sold with a USB A to USB C cord, that no longer plugs into new devices, I am always at a shortage.
When do they start removing the phones from the boxes?
Lucky you! They never offered a phone in the AirPods boxes.
Frankly, I don't see much of a problem with this.
They'll sell the "Apple" charging cable for $40 or something fucking insane, but as long as you can buy and use a normal USB-C cable that does exactly the same thing, go for it.
Of course being Apple, they will probably void the warranty or add an identifier to their cables so that nothing else works. In that case, I hope the EU bankrupts them completely.
2030: After headphone jacks, Apple removes USB-C charging ports in favor of wireless charging.
Once the phone runs out of battery, send it to warranty repair
They are a huge tech company. They should have a checkbox in the checkout flow that lets you add a free cable if you need one.
But what about ... new users entering the Apple ecosystem?
What ecosystem do they think people are coming from where they didn’t already have a USB C cable or wireless charger?
EDIT: This refers only to the new Airpods, not to iPhones. iPhones still come with a charging cable.
Yet more proof that Apple has ceased to be an innovator that adds features to phones and now takes things away and leaves it to fans to make up justifications for it.
They're still innovating, especially when it comes to shareholder profits