Brazil vs. Apple: Government Stops Sales of Chargerless iPhones

Apple is currently in hot water in Brazil after its controversial selling of iPhones without chargers.

Since this is considered "anti-consumer," the government of the country decided to ban the sales of smartphones in the meantime.

Why Apple Sells iPhones With No Chargers

When the Cupertino giant continued to market iPhones without chargers, the Brazilian government immediately sanctioned it with a $2.38 million fine or 12.28 million Brazilian reals, per Engadget.

Additionally, the authorities have canceled the company's registration for its iPhone 12 with the FCC's counterpart in Brazil: Anatel. This also means that the distribution of smartphones across the country has stopped as well.

The decision to ban iPhone sales took place just one day before the "Far Out event" kicked off. This event is one of the most awaited events for fans looking forward to the iPhone 14.

At this point, we assume that the next-gen handset will be coming without a charging accessory - just like what Apple did before.

Although the decision to halt selling the iPhone is already effective in Brazil, the product is still up for grabs on Apple's website, per Folha de S. Paulo, a Brazilian publication.

Apple Wants to Appeal the iPhone Ban

In another story by The Verge, the iPhone maker wants to appeal the decision in hopes of reconnecting to its Brazilian customers.

"We have already won several court rulings in Brazil on this matter and we are confident that our customers are aware of the various options for charging and connecting their devices," the company told Reuters in an interview.

Why did Apple Choose to Ditch the Charger?

The iPad maker is only one of the tech firms aiming to promote green technology use in the future. One of its initiatives to reduce the environmental impact is excluding the accessory to the iPhones.

If Apple wants to ditch the iPhone lightning port, there should be an alternative way to address this issue. As a solution, Brazil urges the company to rely on USB-C charging connectors for all of its electronic products.

If this is implemented, all smartphones, tablets, and laptops might adopt the USB-C charging capability as the universal connector.

Brazil says that the shift to USB-C ports will pave the way for more convenience on the part of consumers.

This was not the first time that Apple was involved in selling smartphones without chargers. Back in October 2021, the Chinese students sued the tech giant for excluding the chargers on an iPhone 12 Pro Max.

The complainants added that the company was only doing that to promote its MagSafe wireless charger to the consumers silently.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry