Apple is fined in Brazil for not including chargers along with iPhone 12 series. The Brazilian consumer protection agency Procon-SP in São Paulo, Brazil has fined Apple $2 million after it excluded chargers as well as misleading advertising, and unfair terms with the iPhone 12.
Fernando Capez, executive director at Procon-SP said, “Apple needs to understand that in Brazil there are solid consumer protection laws and institutions. It needs to respect these laws and these institutions”.
Apple has already been in hot water over the years for its infamous omission of long-existing components. First starting with the widely criticized snub of the headphone jack on the iPhone 7 in 2016. Adding to the frustration, the following year it displaced the Home button on iPhone X. Then it lost the hearts of plenty with the omission of Charger on iPhone 12 smartphones.
The Apple’s Reasoning…
Apple claims that it has based its decision purely on environmental and logistic concerns. However, not many people came aboard with this decision.
Apple claimed that not having a charger in the box will help Apple reduce raw materials for each iPhone unit. Meanwhile, it will also reduce the size of the phones’ boxes. However, critics have argued that Apple’s move is not coming due to its perceived environmental responsibilities. They suggested it had more to do with lowering the shipping costs to save the company’s operational costs.
Procon-SP stated that it reached the Cupertino-based company if it will reduce the phone’s cost to compensate for the exclusion of the charger but received no attention. The agency also complained that the company has regularly failed to respond to reports for faulty iPhones over the years.
Apple has so far kept mum about the legal issue and may even contest the fines if it objects to the allegations.
iPhone 12 was launched back in October 2020 and it arrived in Nepal in December. You can find all the details about Apple’s all latest Magnum Opus here.
