5 ms·
I know people are going to chime in about how a phone is expensive and how it's shocking that they are upcharging you for accessories that you need in order to
by klodolph 5y ago
I know people are going to chime in about how a phone is expensive and how it's shocking that they are upcharging you for accessories that you need in order to use your phone, but for me, the landscape has changed.
For reference, I don't buy a new phone that often. Everyone else I knew had a smartphone by the time I got one... all my friends and family. And yet... these days, I am drowning in iPhone chargers. There are chargers all over the house. Chargers in every room. Chargers packed in case I travel. I have a box of lightning cables.
And then there's a small box of Apple earphones, barely used.
- bluedino 5y agoWell, when we order new phones for people here at work we have to buy all that crap instead of just giving them what comes in the box.
- klodolph 5y agoIsn't there a ton of stuff you need to buy for someone at work? Phone, charger, cable, laptop, ethernet cable, cubicle walls, ergonomic chair, desk, lanyard, ID badge, company branded water bottle... even at small companies the charger seems like such a small thing.
- Someone 5y agoCurious: do you ask new employees whether you have to buy that for them?
- boringg 5y agoYour company buys people phones as opposed to expecting people to have their own phone?
- wongarsu 5y agoI think leaving out the charger would have been a lot less controversial and appeared much less like a cash grab if they hadn't at the same time switched from USB-A to USB-C, requiring everyone to get a new charger.
- Bud 5y agoIt's tiring to keep hearing this argument. No new chargers were required by this move. All the old chargers continue to work just fine.
- ga_to 5y agoIf you already have a USB A to Lightning cable you can keep using this, true. But the new cable that is included just does not fit. An android convert who might have a dozen USB A chargers but zero USB A to Lightning cables would either need such a cable, which is not in the box, or a new charger, which has a USB C socket on it to use the cable from the box.
- Bud 5y agoIn other words, you are admitting I'm entirely correct. No new chargers are required by this move.
- thehappypm 5y agoYou’re only kind of correct. If my new phone ships with a brand new cable I’m going to want to use it — cables age, and my newest cable (especially one from a reputable manufacturer) is going to get used. But if I don’t have a USB-C brick then suddenly I need to buy one to use my best cable.
- Someone 5y agoAlso, another way to spin this would be that they managed to keep their prices constant (1) in a year with inflation by not forcing you to pay for stuff you do not need. Either way, it’s spin. As with many luxury products, their product prices correlate only loosely with costs. Certainly, the last two digits are psychological. (1) since products change and currency exchange rates fluctuate, I think that’s almost impossible to prove, but also to disprove.
- wink 5y agoThe opposite is true here (android household). We don't buy phones very often so we have exactly 2 USB-C chargers in the household so I was kinda happy that work gave me a (now 3rd party) charger for my work iphone. I have retrofitted all my cables with a couple small micro-usb-to-usb-c adapters but especially when you don't change phones often, you should exactly NOT be drowning in chargers. In the Micro-USB times I actually bought 2-3 extra ones because we never had enough... I'm all for finally only having USB-C chargers in the future, but I wouldn't call this transition exactly smooth.
- klodolph 5y ago> ...when you don't change phones often, you should exactly NOT be drowning in chargers. Right, and the way to achieve that is to sell the charger separately. Just with 3 phones each x 2 people over 11 years (replacing phones every 4 years-ish) and that's already 6 chargers. Throw in a single iPad and a work phone and I'm up to 8. Add in one third-party charger with two ports and a power strip with a built-in charger, and now we're up to 10. I don't know how often "often" is but I don't feel like getting a new phone after 4 years is much of a hurry.
- wink 5y agoYeah but only if they're not changing them every few years - and we thought Micro USB would last for a while. one charger in my home office, two in the bedroom, one in the living room, one per office building - that's 6 of them already accounted for, no spares. I like the idea of unbundling them, but in the end I keep buying additional ones anyway...
- klodolph 5y agoThe chargers I have are all separate from the cables. Both Apple and Android.