Apple loses lawsuit for not including charger...

[MoreDef]

https://www.androidauthority.com/iphone-charger-box-3155345/

Tl;dr: a man sued Apple for not including a charger with their phone and won due to a practice called "tie sale", which basically says a company cannot separate the sale of two objects, where one is needed in order to make the other function.

C'mon America, if Brazil can see the injustice in this practice, surely you can too.

 

[rvbfan]

Printer makers as well, most don't come with usb cables anymore.

 

[anon(50597)]

Not sure how I feel about this. While we should be looking for ways to reduce waste, we also need economical ways to access the technology.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Hmm... I wonder if I could sue a yoghurt manufacturer for not supplying a spoon...

I actually agree with the spirit of this, I just like being flippant.

 

[me just saying]

Hmm... I wonder if I could sue a yoghurt manufacturer for not supplying a spoon...

I actually agree with the spirit of this, I just like being flippant.

you can use your fingers to eat the yogurt since you should always have one available. Might be a bit messy

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

you can use your fingers to eat the yogurt since you should always have one available. Might be a bit messy

So much no.

lol

 

[mustang7757]

https://www.androidauthority.com/iphone-charger-box-3155345/

Tl;dr: a man sued Apple for not including a charger with their phone and won due to a practice called "tie sale", which basically says a company cannot separate the sale of two objects, where one is needed in order to make the other function.

C'mon America, if Brazil can see the injustice in this practice, surely you can too.

I'm sure someone will try this in US lol

 

[MoreDef]

Not sure how I feel about this. While we should be looking for ways to reduce waste, we also need economical ways to access the technology.

C'mon now, let's be honest, their play had nothing to do with saving the environment. I mean, they made the boxes smaller, but look at the packaging for the charger. Let's not pretend that it had ANYTHING to do with saving waste, because there are a million things they could have done besides take away a power brick, chords and earbuds.

 

[mustang7757]

C'mon now, let's be honest, their play had nothing to do with saving the environment. I mean, they made the boxes smaller, but look at the packaging for the charger. Let's not pretend that it had ANYTHING to do with saving waste, because there are a million things they could have done besides take away a power brick, chords and earbuds.

I agree

 

[Mooncatt]

Hmm... I wonder if I could sue a yoghurt manufacturer for not supplying a spoon...

I actually agree with the spirit of this, I just like being flippant.

Flippant or not, you make a very valid point. Chargers and cables are so ubiquitous that dang near everyone has spares lying around. Just like everyone already has spoons for their yogurt. If you're willing to pay Apple or other OEM extra to get a charger and cable, then go third party and get something just as good for half the price. Not sure if the tying principle would apply to U.S. law in this case. Yes you have to be able to charge the phone, but you don't need a specific Apple branded charger and cable to do it.

 

[MoreDef]

Flippant or not, you make a very valid point. Chargers and cables are so ubiquitous that dang near everyone has spares lying around. Just like everyone already has spoons for their yogurt. If you're willing to pay Apple or other OEM extra to get a charger and cable, then go third party and get something just as good for half the price. Not sure if the tying principle would apply to U.S. law in this case. Yes you have to be able to charge the phone, but you don't need a specific Apple branded charger and cable to do it.

True, but poorly made 3rd party chargers and cables have shown to be a detriment to your phone's battery, so that's as much of an option as poor people getting their groceries from the dollar tree. Yes, you CAN do it...but SHOULD you? Probably not.

And while the argument that everyone has a charger lying around sounds valid, think about the ability to fast charge. That's essentially being locked behind a paywall. I mean, the whole "you don't have to buy one if you don't want to" reeks of Microsoft telling customers who were unhappy with always online XBox consoles that there was a system for them too...the 360. It's a little condescending considering the fact that the old bricks took 3 days to charge a phone, and yet we're supposed to use it on a phone that's capable of fast charging?

 

[Mooncatt]

True, but poorly made 3rd party chargers and cables have shown to be a detriment to your phone's battery, so that's as much of an option as poor people getting their groceries from the dollar tree. Yes, you CAN do it...but SHOULD you? Probably not.

And while the argument that everyone has a charger lying around sounds valid, think about the ability to fast charge. That's essentially being locked behind a paywall. I mean, the whole "you don't have to buy one if you don't want to" reeks of Microsoft telling customers who were unhappy with always online XBox consoles that there was a system for them too...the 360. It's a little condescending considering the fact that the old bricks took 3 days to charge a phone, and yet we're supposed to use it on a phone that's capable of fast charging?

Li-ion batteries are not great at handling super fast charging to begin with, so that's a bit of a moot point for me. My phone is capable of 5A charge rates and will do so with the OEM charger, but I keep them on a 3A charge max rate and still gives plenty of power quickly. I've also not heard of third party chargers causing excessive deterioration, outside of a factory defect or something. The USB specifications call for a failsafe of sorts, where they won't charge beyond what the charger and phone are able to agree on during the handshake. If not, it defaults back to standard 5V2A charging.

And it's interesting that you call buying them separate as being behind a paywall. So if Apply is forced to continue including chargers and cables whether you need it or not, and the prices go up accordingly, is that also not a paywall? Or if they include it free without raising the price, it necessarily means other people will be paying for it. I.e. Via lower wages and benefits. Does that make you feel any better about it? Because it will be foolish to expect a company to give you anything "free" as if the item exists in a vacuum that doesn't affect the company's bottom line.

 

[MoreDef]

Well they were "free" because they were always included in the package with the phones from the very beginning. It's part of the deal, just like earphones. The whole idea of taking things out to "save the environment" or "pass along the savings" is a load of garbage, as clearly companies aren't interested in either. The packaging is still wasteful and as for passing along savings, tell me why a case with an Apple logo costs $20 more than the same exact case you can find on Amazon.

And how exactly does getting a charging brick back equate to lower wages and benefits? I don't get that part. Is it because you think there's a correlation between the price of the iPhone and the wages of the workers? Because I'm positive that's not how it works. Apple didn't save money, then turn around and give everyone raises to celebrate saving money by not including charging bricks.

 

[J Dubbs]

Flippant or not, you make a very valid point. Chargers and cables are so ubiquitous that dang near everyone has spares lying around. Just like everyone already has spoons for their yogurt. If you're willing to pay Apple or other OEM extra to get a charger and cable, then go third party and get something just as good for half the price. Not sure if the tying principle would apply to U.S. law in this case. Yes you have to be able to charge the phone, but you don't need a specific Apple branded charger and cable to do it.

But if you want the faster speeds the new Android and Apple phones are advertising, you need a new charger. And it also says in the fine print with all those devices to only use a compatible Apple/Samsung etc charger. I think that's one time where the fine print could be legally used against them.

 

[gray2018]

Its not about waste. Its about saving money. If they wanna help with the enviroment, stop including all the books and pamphlets. Nobody reads those.

This goes for not just Apple, but Samsung and anyone who tries to pull this garbage.

 

[tismydroid]

Whether their rationale is to reduce waste or to capitalize on increasing revenue and sales, either way they're going to charge you for the brick. If it came with the phone, believe me, you're still paying for it. Personally, I have so many bricks, it's ridiculous. I'd rather buy the charging brick or wireless pad that I prefer than have their choice of brick thrown in with the phone.

Picture is of the unused bricks I have that are thrown in a drawer. It doesn't count the two bricks I have plugged in my kitchen, the one in my bedroom or the one I keep at work. Notice that they are all oem. They all came with phones I bought. I didn't need to throw another one in that drawer.

 

[MoreDef]

All those bricks are a hassle because they're all the standard brick. Imagine if each brick also had an increase in charging speed. Some phones are shipped with bricks that actually charge a phone faster. Upgrade the phone, upgrade the way it's charged, that should be common sense for these smart phone companies. Why would they build and innovate year after year, only to keep the charging brick the same, and then inevitably take it away entirely instead of sharing that particular upgrade as well? Instead, they decide to make that feature "optional" and make you buy a separate accessory to unlock it, like some real life DLC. "This phone charges at 45w...if you buy the separate 45w charger for $50. Otherwise, enjoy the same charging speeds you've had since 2011!".

 

[anon(40376)]

Agree. You are going to pay for the charger one way or the other. And after purchasing a few phones, most people have chargers in a drawer or two. I have three in my trailer (trying to figure out why since the trailer has four, double USB plugs built in) and at least six or seven in a plastic box in a storage room, plus two in my bedroom plugged in (one for a Kobo one for a Tablet) and I will also mention the table next to me that has two USB plugs built in, next to the two standard AC plug, accessible by pulling up a back cover.

I guess the other way to look at it is since most probably do not need a charger, so why should they have to pay a few bucks more so that others can get the charger? Because you will pay for that charger. Guess I can whine and say I'm tired of paying for the USB cord so that others can get one in a package.

What gets me is people whining about something not coming with a product when it is noted on most boxes what is included. Order a phone on Samsung and there you can click on an item and it will show you what is in the box; phone, SIM card reader tool, USB cord and if a 22U, the S-pen.

 

[gray2018]

I'm sorry, I don't care anyway you rationalize it. Any device that costs 1000-1500 dollars should come with a charging brick STANDARD. They can easily put a charger in there. They're just choosing not to.

Imagine if you're coming from an S9+ and you upgrade to the S22 Ultra. Big upgrade. But out of the box, unlike the S9+, you can't take full advantage of the charging speeds your new device has to offer since they don't put the charging brick in the box anymore. That is, unless you buy the brick separately. Doesn't matter how you slice it, that's a garbage move.

I feel like unboxing phones isn't really fun anymore. You get the phone, some papers, sim eject tool, and a charging cable. I'm quoting Floss here, but remember when unboxing a phone used to be an experience? Depending on the manufacturer, you got headphones, sometimes a case, screen protector, and oh yeah, A CHARGING BRICK!

 

[Mooncatt]

Instead, they decide to make that feature "optional" and make you buy a separate accessory to unlock it, like some real life DLC. "This phone charges at 45w...if you buy the separate 45w charger for $50. Otherwise, enjoy the same charging speeds you've had since 2011!".

And then you start to read all the feedback from those that bought the new optional 45 watt brick and find out it doesn't really decrease charging times much anyway. Maybe by a few minutes if charging from a dead battery, but not worth the extra cost.