Why iPhones Are Suddenly Being Seized From Retail Stores By Lawmakers
Apple no longer includes a charger with the purchase of an iPhone which goes against Brazilian retail policy and had led lawmakers there to seize the smartphones from stores.
Apple is having yet more fines and legal issues. At least this time it is not in America. They are having issues across the border and in Brazil and its resulting in iPhones being seized from stores in that country.
Brazil believes that Apple not including the power charger in alongside the iPhone in sales is harmful to the customers. This has triggered massive fines for Apple. The tech giant has been fined $19 million this time for this.
Interestingly, Apple has been fined off and on by Brazil for a while now and has reversed these court rulings numerous times. This love-hate relationship that is between these two has been going on for some time now. Brazil is still wanting Apple products though wants some of them for free. While Apple still wants to sell in Brazil but wants to lower its carbon footprint.
Apple’s decision not to include the charger was made for the iPhone 12. Though this decision has come down to the iPhone 11 as it is packed into a more compact box, not including a charger. This reduces the overhead costs for Apple considerably.
The chargers are made with a combination of zinc and plastics and are their largest use of said materials. According to Apple, billions of types-A of USB Chargers are already in the world. This includes already being sold locally.
By eliminating the chargers from being included in the iPhone case, they can reduce their carbon emissions by 2 million metric tons. That is equivalent to 500,000 cars on the road each year. That is a massive carbon footprint. Considering some of the issues Apple is running into, there may be more at play here.
Apple, though has won many lawsuits in Brazil and has avoided fines before it. Apple has declared they are not concerned and confident it will also win this lawsuit. They will, at the very least, be able to reach a middle ground with Brazil.
One thing going for them, however, is that the judge presiding over the case Judge Diego Câmara Alves, has allowed the company to continue selling iPhones in Brazil. This is until a final ruling. He believes that the company is not violating any consumer rights.
This was after Brazil authorities had already begun confiscating iPhones across Brazil from stores across the country. Apple says they are confident; however, they decided to continue including a power cord with their apple TVs when they stopped in other countries.
This shows that Apple may not be as confident as they are putting off. The reason is that the product is not useable without including a charger or power cord. Apple is claiming that they have informed their consumers of how they can charge their devices. This has many concerns for the future.
Apple is promoting its cordless charging device by not including it in some devices. They also discourage the use of non-apple chargers. The Customers, though, are still using these third parties. The reason is that apple chargers are so much more expensive. The price of an iPhone’s third-party charger is roughly half that of an apple charger with similar specs.
This has brought to the front a question. With the lies, Apple has said now in their privacy assurance. Are they trying to reduce their carbon footprint? They could just as well be increasing their profit margins while reducing their overhead costs. Their actions
