A group of Chinese students sued Apple for selling iPhone 12 without a charger. They demanded that Apple provide a charger for the iPhone 12 they bought.
Apple will no longer include charger and earphone adapters in the sales package for the iPhone 12, which was launched in 2020. The company created by Steve Jobs says the move will help reduce carbon emissions and the use of valuable raw materials, and assume consumers already have a lot of unused chargers.
But a group of students from Beijing and Shanghai tried to challenge the argument in court. They demanded that Apple provide a charger adapter for an iPhone 12 Pro Max owned by a student, pay 100 yuan (Rp 221 thousand) for breach of contract, and pay court fees, as quoted from Vice, Thursday (28/10/2021).
During a virtual hearing at the Beijing Internet Court, a student named Xiaofang argued that the USB-C to Lightning cable that came in the box selling the iPhone 12 was not compatible with previous Apple device chargers and other chargers on the market. As a result, they can not recharge the iPhone 12 battery as fast as the claims on Apple's website.
Apple representatives argued that it is now common for vendors to sell their phones without a charger. They also emphasized that the iPhone 12's smaller box is also a sign that there is no charger inside.
But the students argue that some Chinese vendors give users the freedom to choose between cell phone packaging that contains a charger or not.
They also claim Apple's decision not to include a charger in the iPhone 12 packaging is to promote the MagSafe wireless charger. According to them, the decision was taken to boost Apple's revenue, and not to protect the environment.
The students' move to sue Apple received a lot of support from Chinese netizens. On Chinese social media, some netizens said they were forced to buy a new charger when they bought the iPhone 12, but some were worried that they would have to pay more if Apple provided a free charger.
This isn't the first time Apple has faced legal trouble for not providing a charger. Recently, Brazilian regulators imposed a fine of USD 2 million on Apple for selling iPhone 12 without a charger.
