Did anybody still remember that Apple get rid of accessories from iPhone boxes 2 years ago and how big controversies this decision caused? Currently, there are probably few people who remember it anymore, but why apple decided to take this step? This topic is a little bit difficult so let me start from the beginning.
In 2020 Apple announced that from now on all iPhones (old and new) will be sold without the charger, Apple’s decision was bolstered by arguments about caring for the environment. One of the main ones was to reduce the amount of plastic produced by apple products but if we think about this twice it doesn’t make sense because the amount of plastic they were supposed to reduce will now be spent on the product of separate boxes for chargers, where is the sense in that? The public mostly accepted this change (as if it had any other choice) probably such an attitude of consumers is influenced by increasing awareness of environmental pollution, of course, there were voices of criticism, but it did not affect the actions of the world’s most expensive company.
So let’s answer the question of why they did it, if you don’t know what’s at stake then it’s all about money. According to phonearena.com “Apple by reducing the size of the boxes that the iPhone comes in, 70% more devices could fit on a shipping pallet”. The Daily Mail claims that Apple has already saved £5 billion by removing the charger and the EarPods from the package. That comes to almost $6.5 billion. When Apple took the accessories out of the iPhone packaging, the price of it’s handsets did not change. At the same time, many iPhone customers who wanted to fast charge their iPhones had to pay an additional $19 for a 20W charger and an additional $19 for new EarPods since they only had the 5W adapters that came in the box with prior versions. So not only does apple save on shipping, but it also makes money on accessories.
Here we come to an interesting twist because apple has indeed contributed to environmental protection but a little in a different but equally important way, as stated phonearena.com “Apple could mail more phones to customers at once if there were more boxes on a pallet. Apple said that by adopting smaller packaging, it would be able to cut its annual carbon emissions by 2 million metric tons. That would be the same as removing 500,000 automobiles from the road”. Isn’t this a good argument for removing chargers from boxes, in my opinion, yes, I don’t know why apple didn’t use this argument to support its decision. It would have avoided criticism and preserved the good reputation of the company.
Another interesting consequence of apple’s move is the behavior of other companies in the technology market, among Samsung quietly announcing it publicly removed chargers in the latest Samsung models. Whether they also wanted to optimize shipping costs like an apple or simply had to adapt to the decision of the Cupertino giant, I do not know, but it certainly shows the power and influence of their decisions on the technology market.
Sources:
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10607077/Apple-makes-EXTRA-5billion-no-longer-providing-chargers-earphones-new-iPhones.html
- https://www.phonearena.com/news/apple-saved-billions-removing-accessories-from-boxes_id139005
- https://step-tech.pl/po/apple-nadal-czerpie-zyski-z-wyjmowania-ladowarki-z-pudelka/
- https://spidersweb.pl/2022/03/iphone-ladowarka-pudelko-apple.html
I think that while it is true that the decision has had a positive environmental impact, we cannot forget that it was most likely driven by economic reasons. I think that the fairest case would be to sell iPhones in two variations: one with the charger and earbuds, one as it is right now. This way, those who are fine with using a previous charger could pay a little bit less. Still, that may just be a dream – after all, why would Apple choose to lower its profits to serve the customers?
Although this idea was, in my opinion, purely driven by the economic advantages it provides for Apple, not by their care for the enviroment, I personally think that it was a really smart move for the company, considering the profits it created. Although Apple’s customers are directly affected by this change, it probably won’t stop them from purchasing a new Iphone. Furthermore, most of Iphone users already own several chargers/sets of earphones from their previous phones, so if they really want, they can reuse them and save some money. Even if they do have to buy a new charger, the additional price seems irrelevant compared to how expensive new Iphones are now getting.