Apple loses lawsuit for not including charger...

[Mooncatt]

The first thought that came to my mind when I read this was around the Pixel 1 when Benson found charging cables not to spec. I recall some devices being damaged in the process? I can't quite recall. Now, granted, not exactly the point you were making about the brick but kind of close.

That was related to cables, but not so much related to degradation. At the time, higher voltage/power charging was still in its infancy, and cables capable of delivering that extra power required a special resistor if I'm not mistaken. If they didn't have that, the charger and phone wouldn't be able to negotiate that higher charging rate, and would default back to standard 5V charging.

 

[Golfdriver97]

That was related to cables, but not so much related to degradation. At the time, higher voltage/power charging was still in its infancy, and cables capable of delivering that extra power required a special resistor if I'm not mistaken. If they didn't have that, the charger and phone wouldn't be able to negotiate that higher charging rate, and would default back to standard 5V charging.

Very true about the cable part. I was just thinking of the example that, while not necessarily the charging brick, not using what is recommended for the device can be possibly a bad idea. Now, a lot of things were at play in my example. Voltage/fast charging like you said is one thing, not adhering to the correct USB spec is another, very little oversight in what meets what standard is another, and I'm sure we could go on. What I am alluding to is this could very easily happen again with no charger/cable provided with the device.

 

[Morty2264]

Honestly, I don't think these are small demographics. The changing from Android to Apple or vice versa, perhaps, but:



I think this is a bigger one than most people realize. Sure, all of us on here probably buy a new phone yearly. But I really think for every one of us, there are multiple people who either skip multiple generations, or upgrade when the payments are done (ballpark every 2-2.5 years).

I totally agree with you! I know my husband is a part of the second demographic, and switches phones every two to three years. Three years is an awfully long time -- you're bound to need those new, fast-charging accessories.

 

[J Dubbs]

Honestly, I don't think these are small demographics. The changing from Android to Apple or vice versa, perhaps, but:



I think this is a bigger one than most people realize. Sure, all of us on here probably buy a new phone yearly. But I really think for every one of us, there are multiple people who either skip multiple generations, or upgrade when the payments are done (ballpark every 2-2.5 years).

I usually keep a phone for a minimum of 2 years.. and I traditionally pick up 1-2 year old flagships new on clearance. My wife on the other hand, I need to pry her dying phone from her hands because she HATES the hassle of setting up a new phone, so her phones are usually much older than mine. She uses her phone for work so she needs quite a few specific apps installed and set up. So as you can see we have pretty old charging tech, nothing that would work with the new faster charging phones.

Which means when we pick up new phones this year, there's a very good chance we'll have to buy new chargers as well. I'm sure next time we buy new phones we'll probably need to buy the cables as well as chargers. Oh Joy! :-\

 

[J Dubbs]

Very true about the cable part. I was just thinking of the example that, while not necessarily the charging brick, not using what is recommended for the device can be possibly a bad idea. Now, a lot of things were at play in my example. Voltage/fast charging like you said is one thing, not adhering to the correct USB spec is another, very little oversight in what meets what standard is another, and I'm sure we could go on. What I am alluding to is this could very easily happen again with no charger/cable provided with the device.

And since those companies recommend their brand of compatible chargers and cables in the fine print, it's a possibility they could void your warranty if there was a problem they could connect to you using a third party charger. Maybe not likely, but possible. And you know how these companies like their legalese to get out of honoring warranty repairs.

Just look at Samsung denying warranty screen repairs on all the Folds and Flips for a multitude of different bogus reasons.

They know a lot of folks are going to buy the official chargers for the peace of mind that they'll fast charge properly, and not damage the phone/battery. Nowadays phones can be a substantial investment, and companies know that folks won't mind spending the additional money for the official charger, vs an Amazon version for half the price. And that adds up over millions of phones

 

[mustang7757]

Looks like Samsung is getting sued now

https://www.sammobile.com/news/samsung-may-get-sued-for-not-including-charger-with-phones/

 

[MoreDef]

Yes! Here we go.i don't think it's too much to ask that a company include the proper materials that help extend the life of their product. Skimping on 1st party accessories can resort to people cheaping out, buying faulty bricks and cables that either don't perform optimally, or outright affect the life of the device.

Let's hope this leads to some sort of reform where you can opt for the device complete with accessories for retail (NOT an additional cost), or a discounted cost due to less being packaged with the device.

I know we've spoken to death about this, but the whole narrative that they're either doing it to save the environment, or save us from our hoarding nature presumes we're all either too dumb or too gullible to see through the story to call a spade a spade.

 

[mustang7757]

Yes! Here we go.i don't think it's too much to ask that a company include the proper materials that help extend the life of their product. Skimping on 1st party accessories can resort to people cheaping out, buying faulty bricks and cables that either don't perform optimally, or outright affect the life of the device.

Let's hope this leads to some sort of reform where you can opt for the device complete with accessories for retail (NOT an additional cost), or a discounted cost due to less being packaged with the device.

I know we've spoken to death about this, but the whole narrative that they're either doing it to save the environment, or save us from our hoarding nature presumes we're all either too dumb or too gullible to see through the story to call a spade a spade.

Agree

 

[rvbfan]

Yes! Here we go.i don't think it's too much to ask that a company include the proper materials that help extend the life of their product. Skimping on 1st party accessories can resort to people cheaping out, buying faulty bricks and cables that either don't perform optimally, or outright affect the life of the device.

Let's hope this leads to some sort of reform where you can opt for the device complete with accessories for retail (NOT an additional cost), or a discounted cost due to less being packaged with the device.

I know we've spoken to death about this, but the whole narrative that they're either doing it to save the environment, or save us from our hoarding nature presumes we're all either too dumb or too gullible to see through the story to call a spade a spade.

You know it will go the other way though don't you? Extra for the charger.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Yes! Here we go.i don't think it's too much to ask that a company include the proper materials that help extend the life of their product. Skimping on 1st party accessories can resort to people cheaping out, buying faulty bricks and cables that either don't perform optimally, or outright affect the life of the device.

Let's hope this leads to some sort of reform where you can opt for the device complete with accessories for retail (NOT an additional cost), or a discounted cost due to less being packaged with the device.

I know we've spoken to death about this, but the whole narrative that they're either doing it to save the environment, or save us from our hoarding nature presumes we're all either too dumb or too gullible to see through the story to call a spade a spade.

I agree.

 

[MoreDef]

You know it will go the other way though don't you? Extra for the charger.

Yeah, that's what I thought as I was typing. I can see companies going, "oh you want choice, huh? Okay, well then we'll keep our pricing without the chargers as is, and for an ADDED cost, we can ship you the stuff we used to give you for free. We'll even come off like we heard and listened to our customers, but really, we all know what's really happening here."

 

[tismydroid]

Yeah, that's what I thought as I was typing. I can see companies going, "oh you want choice, huh? Okay, well then we'll keep our pricing without the chargers as is, and for an ADDED cost, we can ship you the stuff we used to give you for free. We'll even come off like we heard and listened to our customers, but really, we all know what's really happening here."

Do you really think they gave us those chargers for free?

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Do you really think they gave us those chargers for free?

They must have... Otherwise, why didn't the prices go down when they removed them?

 

[mustang7757]

They must have... Otherwise, why didn't the prices go down when they removed them?

Yeah they didn't calculate the Free chargers they put in the box with the phone that would be bad business practice

 

[Mooncatt]

They must have... Otherwise, why didn't the prices go down when they removed them?

Did they remove the charger from existing phones, or are you comparing an older model that came with a charger to a newer model without the charger?

 

[Mooncatt]

Yeah, that's what I thought as I was typing. I can see companies going, "oh you want choice, huh? Okay, well then we'll keep our pricing without the chargers as is, and for an ADDED cost, we can ship you the stuff we used to give you for free. We'll even come off like we heard and listened to our customers, but really, we all know what's really happening here."

It doesn't matter. Either way, the masses are going to expect the phone with the charger for the same price as the one sold without a charger.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Did they remove the charger from existing phones, or are you comparing an older model that came with a charger to a newer model without the charger?

The second thing? I suppose... But it's probably best not to over analyse something that was pretty obviously just a snarky joke lol

 

[J Dubbs]

They must have... Otherwise, why didn't the prices go down when they removed them?

I just watched a story on one of the financial channels about this, they were discussing the fact that Apple has made over 6.5 billion dollars by not including the chargers and earphones I don't remember the time frame that covered unfortunately, but I'm sure the story could be easily googled. That didn't even take into account the money they made off of people buying the chargers and earphones separately.. they couldn't get those numbers but said they could possibly be as high or higher than the 6.5 billion.

They also said Samsungs profits were most likely similar. Save the environment or save money? Things that make you go hmm.... yep I know what you're thinking B

 

[MoreDef]

I just watched a story on one of the financial channels about this, they were discussing the fact that Apple has made over 6.5 billion dollars by not including the chargers and earphones I don't remember the time frame that covered unfortunately, but I'm sure the story could be easily googled. That didn't even take into account the money they made off of people buying the chargers and earphones separately.. they couldn't get those numbers but said they could possibly be as high or higher than the 6.5 billion.

They also said Samsungs profits were most likely similar. Save the environment or save money? Things that make you go hmm.... yep I know what you're thinking B

I read/saw the same numbers kicked around, but I believe it was "saved" 6.5 billion, as opposed to "made".

A single Google search shows 100 million iPhone 12 units have been sold, with an average production cost of $406. That leaves a (rough) estimate of a $584 profit per unit. Do the (again, extremely rough) math, and you get $58.4 BILLION dollars. Again, it doesn't take into account payrolls, packaging materials, commercials, shipment costs, taxes and all that stuff...but 58.4 billion goes a looooong way.

Poor apple was "losing" 6.5 billions by including bricks and chords.

In addition, a cost analysis of the iphone 13 pro says that it only costs $20 more dollars to build.

Long story short, all of the math adds up to apple just wanting to sell you less for either the same amount of money, or more. They're squeezing folks, and justifying or trying to "logic" their reasoning aren't helping the consumer get what they've always been paying for...a full experience and ability to interact with the ecosystem with 1st party peripherals and accessories with no added paywall.

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

I read/saw the same numbers kicked around, but I believe it was "saved" 6.5 billion, as opposed to "made".

A single Google search shows 100 million iPhone 12 units have been sold, with an average production cost of $406. That leaves a (rough) estimate of a $584 profit per unit. Do the (again, extremely rough) math, and you get $58.4 BILLION dollars. Again, it doesn't take into account payrolls, packaging materials, commercials, shipment costs, taxes and all that stuff...but 58.4 billion goes a looooong way.

Poor apple was "losing" 6.5 billions by including bricks and chords.

In addition, a cost analysis of the iphone 13 pro says that it only costs $20 more dollars to build.

Long story short, all of the math adds up to apple just wanting to sell you less for either the same amount of money, or more. They're squeezing folks, and justifying or trying to "logic" their reasoning aren't helping the consumer get what they've always been paying for...a full experience and ability to interact with the ecosystem with 1st party peripherals and accessories with no added paywall.

Something a lot of their fans don't seem to realise... You don't get to be the most valuable company on the planet, or I suppose second most valuable now, by being consumer friendly lol