A new iPhone rumor made its rounds this weekend, and it wasn’t about the notch or the flat edges, or the size of the screens. This is what is in the box. Or rather, what is not in it.
Respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo apparently confirmed an earlier Barclays report that Apple will not supply a charger in the iPhone 12 case. Like none at all. Not even the lame 5W adapter that takes over an hour to provide a decent charge.
Not since Apple removed the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 has there been a rumor with more (as Apple might describe it) “courage.” It is unclear whether Kuo is talking about the entire iPhone 12 lineup or just entry-level models, but his sources expect Apple to ship some new models this fall without a charger.
That’s not cool. Of course, almost everyone has an old charger, and anyone who has owned an iPhone or iPad has a charger in a drawer. But when you buy an electronic device, whether it’s an iPhone, a Nintendo Switch, or a MacBook, you hope to have everything you need to use it. Apple can do whatever it wants, but people will have a right to be upset.
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Apple has long used its iPhone chargers to save a few dollars. While all other phone manufacturers have shipped their phones with fast charging adapters, Apple has just started to include an 18W charger with the iPhone 11 case, and even then, only with the Pro models. $ 699 still has the same 5W charger as the original iPhone.
But we were expecting Apple to expand fast charging in the box to all iPhone 12 models, especially the battery-powered 5G. The math works: Apple charges $ 19 for its 5W charger and $ 29 for its 18W charger, and the USB-C cable required to charge quickly costs the same as USB-A ($ 19). And the benefit to the user is enormous. Now we may get nothing.
Daniel MasaokaThe iPhone 12 may not include any of these chargers in the box.
Apple wants to sell iPhone 12 at a price similar to iPhone 11, and 5G and OLED, which are rumored to hit all models, aren’t cheap. Then something has to give. Downloading the charger can only generate a few dollars in savings for Apple, but those dollars accumulate when it sells tens of millions of devices each quarter.
However, it would be quite surprising to open up your new iPhone and see a blank space where the charger used to be. Since the phones don’t ship with a full charge, many people plug them in during setup, and now it looks like they’re going to need to bring their own charger to do it. Maybe Apple will cut the price of its own chargers and we hope they will at least supply a USB-Ca-Lightning cable in the box. But this still feels like a nickel.
It’s early enough in the iPhone 12 manufacturing process that Apple could still go either way, so it’s a good time to test the waters. A rumor like this from Kuo would surely spread like wildfire, so if Apple was looking to gauge public reaction before signing the final decision, the timing and source are perfect.
But while the reaction might be enough for Apple to backtrack on the iPhone 12 and include a charger, it’s pretty safe to assume that the iPhone 13, already rumored to be completely portless, won’t have one. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see other phone manufacturers do the same. Like the headphone jack, camera clipping, and gesture navigation, I hope Samsung and other Android phone makers will at least explore their options when it comes to chargers if Apple pulls one out of the iPhone 12. In no time, Buying a powered phone adapter could be as rare as finding one with a headphone jack.
We already expect Apple to remove the Lightning headphones from the iPhone 12 case, but it doesn’t include a charger on another level. Yes, excellent Anker and Aukey chargers are often sold, but that’s not the point. It’s bad enough that Apple doesn’t include a cable with its chargers or a headphone adapter with the iPhone 12. A pair of headphones, an adapter, even a headphone jack are ancillary features that enhance the experience. A charger is a must.
