4 ms·

Yeah - I am coming around to the idea that chargers don't need to be included with the phone, but also you should be able to get it with the phone if you happen

Yeah - I am coming around to the idea that chargers don't need to be included with the phone, but also you should be able to get it with the phone if you happen to need it. It should be an option you can pick whenever you buy the phone. There are definitely situations now where I really don't need a new charger when I buy a device, so if I can just pick the "no charger" option, I will. But most likely - we won't get the choice. Because it costs more to Apple and other corporations. I was a bit surprised that my S21 charged super slowly on my OnePlus 30W charger, so I had to buy a Samsung 25W charger. (There are others that work, but they were all roughly the same price as the official one.)

samatman 4y ago
This is how it works. This is exactly how it works. Behold: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MHJA3AM/A/20w-usb-c-power-adapter https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MHJA3AM/A/20w-usb-c-power... Nineteen bucks, won't catch fire, gives a real 20W. Now, it might be the case that you feel the price should be zero bucks with purchase of an iPhone. Apple disagrees. They don't run promotions of that sort, or promotions, in fact. The price is the price, it's core to the brand. Same with a case, same with headphones. Need a USB-A cable for charging instead of -C? You can buy that as well. I'd make a snarky comment about expecting everyone else to pay for your free charger when we don't need one, but profit doesn't actually work that way. Other entities sell iPhones, in fact, I believe that Apple only sells a minority of phones directly. Those merchants are welcome to toss in a charger, if that's the kind of thing the customer likes.
- plussed_reader 4y ago
  Sounds like the dongle-hell of the Scully days.
  - samatman 4y ago
    I cannot possibly understand what you think you're saying here. There are three ways to charge an iPhone, two wireless and one port, all of them run off USB, A or C, take your pick. The only wrinkle is that there are USB-C ports out there which don't speak the standard, something which Apple can't control. Where's the dongle? Where's the hell?
  - lloeki 4y ago
    > dongle-hell How so? You are precisely able to pick the charger with the port you want according to the cables you have (or want to buy), instead of having a charger with a port you don't choose (+ the cable matching the port you then don't want to have on the brick side).
- madeofpalk 4y ago
  > They don't run promotions of that sort, or promotions, in fact FWIW, every year Apple does run back-to-school promotions where they'll give you airpods or something like that with a new mac.
  - samatman 4y ago
    I had a nagging feeling that there was an exception slipping my mind, thanks. The freebie to get students hooked on a lifetime of product fits the model, they also offer (at least, used to) student discounts on services, like classes for the Apple Stores which have that. Or did? I have no idea if that's started up post-covid or not. If they were going to give away a free charger, they may as well put it back in the box. They're good chargers, the number of people who would turn it down at checkout is a rounding error.
    - madeofpalk 4y ago
      They also have/had "don't call it Black Friday Sale" Special Shopping Event that was just a flat out discount on everything by like a token $100 or something.
- schwartzworld 4y ago
  > Now, it might be the case that you feel the price should be zero bucks with purchase of an iPhone. It would be one thing if the form factor matched all the other chargers sold in the world. I have a pile of USB-C and micro USB cords, like most other people. But if I bought an iPhone, I have no option to use a charger I already own. The extra purchase is absolutely required to make the device work. It's not the same charger as the other Apple devices I've owned. If your last phone wasn't also an iPhone, it's a required purchase. It feels deceptive. If they were to "include" the charger, but offer a $19 discount if you didn't need it, that's fundamentally different than advertising a price for the device that is unusable to new customers without additional purchases. > Apple disagrees. They don't run promotions of that sort, or promotions, in fact. The price is the price, it's core to the brand. If it was core to the brand it wouldn't be news. I was an iPhone user back in the day and they all came with chargers and headphones. The decision to not include these things is not a branding one, but profit-driven and taking advantage of a captive customer base. Lots of iPhone customers are angry about these decisions, but the weight of changing ecosystems keeps them buying.
  - masklinn 4y ago
    > But if I bought an iPhone, I have no option to use a charger I already own. The extra purchase is absolutely required to make the device work. It's not the same charger as the other Apple devices I've owned. If your last phone wasn't also an iPhone, it's a required purchase. Of course you do. I've not seen a cable-bonded phone charger in over a decade now. You just need a lightning cable, all chargers will have either an USB-A or USB-C female plug.
  - rootusrootus 4y ago
    > But if I bought an iPhone, I have no option to use a charger I already own. Why? I have multiple chargers around my house, and only one of them is an Apple charger. The rest are Anker USB-C chargers. My phone came with a USB-C to Lightning cable, and it works fine with any of those chargers.
    - schwartzworld 4y ago
- lloeki 4y ago
  >> It should be an option you can pick whenever you buy the phone. >> we won't get the choice. Because it costs more to Apple and other corporations. > Nineteen bucks I have a feeling that GP meant that the option of charger vs not should be free (otherwise it would not "cost more" to the seller). Assuming I understood correctly, in that case the consequence would be that many would just pick the "with charger" option just because it's a freebie.
- mminer237 4y ago
  Note that in Brazil it's $40: https://www.apple.com/br/shop/product/MHJG3BZ/A/carregador-usb-c-de-20w https://www.apple.com/br/shop/product/MHJG3BZ/A/carregador-u... And that's in a country where the median income is around $4,000/year. Imagine in America saving up and paying $10,000 for a brand-new phone and they ask you to pay another $400 for the charger.
  - jdminhbg 4y ago
    Brazil is free to stop doubling the price of electronic goods with import duties at any time!
  - samatman 4y ago
    We both know that the median salary is irrelevant when considering Brazilian iPhone buyers. No one is spending two and a half years of scratch on just one phone. A 17 Million (! Dr. Evil flourish!) USD fine, standing next to the doubled price Brazil's government inflicts on its citizens, paints a pretty stark picture here. There's a problem. It isn't a phone charger problem or an Apple problem, but it's a real one. No pun intended.
- neurostimulant 4y ago
  I'm not from Brazil, but we have similar situation here with apple products where they're sold with extreme premium. The official first party lightning charging cable alone is $50. The store clerk literally told me to buy some 3rd party cables instead. And this is from a store chains authorized by apple (honoring warranty, official repair service, etc), not just some unauthorized reseller store.
- ratww 4y ago
  > Apple disagrees. They don't run promotions of that sort, or promotions, in fact. The price is the price, it's core to the brand. That's not entirely true. I got my M1 in a promotion, with a discount. I also got my Watch "bundled" with the bracelet (the packages were literally bundled together), also with a nice discount. That was at a flagship Apple Store. Also "the price" is not "core to the brand" in Brazil. It changes very frequently and is not a direct conversion of the American price.
JKCalhoun 4y ago
I agree. I personally have too many chargers around the house and would happily pass on another.

samatman 4y ago

This is how it works. This is exactly how it works. Behold: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MHJA3AM/A/20w-usb-c-power-adapter https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MHJA3AM/A/20w-usb-c-power... Nineteen bucks, won't catch fire, gives a real 20W. Now, it might be the case that you feel the price should be zero bucks with purchase of an iPhone. Apple disagrees. They don't run promotions of that sort, or promotions, in fact. The price is the price, it's core to the brand. Same with a case, same with headphones. Need a USB-A cable for charging instead of -C? You can buy that as well. I'd make a snarky comment about expecting everyone else to pay for your free charger when we don't need one, but profit doesn't actually work that way. Other entities sell iPhones, in fact, I believe that Apple only sells a minority of phones directly. Those merchants are welcome to toss in a charger, if that's the kind of thing the customer likes.

plussed_reader 4y ago
Sounds like the dongle-hell of the Scully days.
- samatman 4y ago
  I cannot possibly understand what you think you're saying here. There are three ways to charge an iPhone, two wireless and one port, all of them run off USB, A or C, take your pick. The only wrinkle is that there are USB-C ports out there which don't speak the standard, something which Apple can't control. Where's the dongle? Where's the hell?
- lloeki 4y ago
  > dongle-hell How so? You are precisely able to pick the charger with the port you want according to the cables you have (or want to buy), instead of having a charger with a port you don't choose (+ the cable matching the port you then don't want to have on the brick side).
madeofpalk 4y ago
> They don't run promotions of that sort, or promotions, in fact FWIW, every year Apple does run back-to-school promotions where they'll give you airpods or something like that with a new mac.
- samatman 4y ago
  I had a nagging feeling that there was an exception slipping my mind, thanks. The freebie to get students hooked on a lifetime of product fits the model, they also offer (at least, used to) student discounts on services, like classes for the Apple Stores which have that. Or did? I have no idea if that's started up post-covid or not. If they were going to give away a free charger, they may as well put it back in the box. They're good chargers, the number of people who would turn it down at checkout is a rounding error.
  - madeofpalk 4y ago
    They also have/had "don't call it Black Friday Sale" Special Shopping Event that was just a flat out discount on everything by like a token $100 or something.
schwartzworld 4y ago
> Now, it might be the case that you feel the price should be zero bucks with purchase of an iPhone. It would be one thing if the form factor matched all the other chargers sold in the world. I have a pile of USB-C and micro USB cords, like most other people. But if I bought an iPhone, I have no option to use a charger I already own. The extra purchase is absolutely required to make the device work. It's not the same charger as the other Apple devices I've owned. If your last phone wasn't also an iPhone, it's a required purchase. It feels deceptive. If they were to "include" the charger, but offer a $19 discount if you didn't need it, that's fundamentally different than advertising a price for the device that is unusable to new customers without additional purchases. > Apple disagrees. They don't run promotions of that sort, or promotions, in fact. The price is the price, it's core to the brand. If it was core to the brand it wouldn't be news. I was an iPhone user back in the day and they all came with chargers and headphones. The decision to not include these things is not a branding one, but profit-driven and taking advantage of a captive customer base. Lots of iPhone customers are angry about these decisions, but the weight of changing ecosystems keeps them buying.
- masklinn 4y ago
  > But if I bought an iPhone, I have no option to use a charger I already own. The extra purchase is absolutely required to make the device work. It's not the same charger as the other Apple devices I've owned. If your last phone wasn't also an iPhone, it's a required purchase. Of course you do. I've not seen a cable-bonded phone charger in over a decade now. You just need a lightning cable, all chargers will have either an USB-A or USB-C female plug.
- rootusrootus 4y ago
  > But if I bought an iPhone, I have no option to use a charger I already own. Why? I have multiple chargers around my house, and only one of them is an Apple charger. The rest are Anker USB-C chargers. My phone came with a USB-C to Lightning cable, and it works fine with any of those chargers.
  - schwartzworld 4y ago
lloeki 4y ago
>> It should be an option you can pick whenever you buy the phone. >> we won't get the choice. Because it costs more to Apple and other corporations. > Nineteen bucks I have a feeling that GP meant that the option of charger vs not should be free (otherwise it would not "cost more" to the seller). Assuming I understood correctly, in that case the consequence would be that many would just pick the "with charger" option just because it's a freebie.
mminer237 4y ago
Note that in Brazil it's $40: https://www.apple.com/br/shop/product/MHJG3BZ/A/carregador-usb-c-de-20w https://www.apple.com/br/shop/product/MHJG3BZ/A/carregador-u... And that's in a country where the median income is around $4,000/year. Imagine in America saving up and paying $10,000 for a brand-new phone and they ask you to pay another $400 for the charger.
- jdminhbg 4y ago
  Brazil is free to stop doubling the price of electronic goods with import duties at any time!
- samatman 4y ago
  We both know that the median salary is irrelevant when considering Brazilian iPhone buyers. No one is spending two and a half years of scratch on just one phone. A 17 Million (! Dr. Evil flourish!) USD fine, standing next to the doubled price Brazil's government inflicts on its citizens, paints a pretty stark picture here. There's a problem. It isn't a phone charger problem or an Apple problem, but it's a real one. No pun intended.
neurostimulant 4y ago
I'm not from Brazil, but we have similar situation here with apple products where they're sold with extreme premium. The official first party lightning charging cable alone is $50. The store clerk literally told me to buy some 3rd party cables instead. And this is from a store chains authorized by apple (honoring warranty, official repair service, etc), not just some unauthorized reseller store.
ratww 4y ago
> Apple disagrees. They don't run promotions of that sort, or promotions, in fact. The price is the price, it's core to the brand. That's not entirely true. I got my M1 in a promotion, with a discount. I also got my Watch "bundled" with the bracelet (the packages were literally bundled together), also with a nice discount. That was at a flagship Apple Store. Also "the price" is not "core to the brand" in Brazil. It changes very frequently and is not a direct conversion of the American price.

JKCalhoun 4y ago

I agree. I personally have too many chargers around the house and would happily pass on another.