Taiwan's Consumers' Foundation Accuses Apple of Exploiting Consumers For Not Including Charger with iPhone

Apple is currently under fire for its decision not to include chargers in the iPhone kit. A consumer group in Taiwan has called for an investigation into the tech giant's tactic.

Apple to be Investigated

On Sept. 13, the Consumers' Foundation accused the tech giant of exploiting consumers due to the lack of charging adapters, according to AppleInsider.

In a press release, the group stated that even though Apple's decision to exclude the chargers is because of environmental reasons, which has affected consumer rights because chargers are important to operating a phone.

The group stated that if a phone manufacturer like Apple produces a phone but does not include the charger or even a charging cable in the box, the consumer who purchased it will not be able to use it properly.

No matter how fully functional and well-performing the high-end smartphone is, consumers won't be able to turn it on and use it normally. To make it work, it will require a separate purchase of the charger.

The Consumers' Foundation urged the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission to begin an investigation into Apple's practice, according to Taiwan News.

Hsu Tse-yu, the secretary-general of Consumers' Foundation, said that selling an iPhone without an essential accessory like the charger results in a hidden price hike because consumers would need to buy a separate product to use the phone properly.

Also, he said that iPhone prices have not dropped to show the decrease in production costs, which was supposed to be the reason why Apple did not include the chargers in the first place.

In contrast, the group does not believe that earpods are an important accessory, but since the iPhone has been sold with earpods for years, the group still believes that the tech giant should create a different pricing list to show their absence.

Lawsuits in Brazil and France

Apple stopped including the power adapter or earpods with its iPhones in 2020 due to environmental concerns, according to MacRumors.

However, the tech giant is still required to ship those accessories in some countries because it is required by law, such as in France.

However, since the iPhone 12 retail box is already a standard, Apple is shipping a separate retail box to France in order to include the earpods with the iPhone 12 unit.

However, the power adapter is still not present in the retail box in France because adapters are not required by French law.

Despite this, French Apple users got the earpods included in their purchase, which is better compared to the rest of the world.

Apple talked about its efforts to save the environment from carbon emissions as the reason behind its decision not to include the accessories.

Apple removed the earpods and power adapters from the iPhone 12 unit last year. The company stressed that a lot of users already have earpods and power adapters that came from the previous models, and those accessories will still work with the latest iPhone.

Although the move makes sense if you are abiding by the recycling practices, it is still economically not logical because the company did not lower the unit's price even though it removed the accessories.

Apple is selling the accessories separately, and the said accessories come with the latest iPad models, which confuses consumers about the company's true intentions.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sophie Webster