The Brazilian government has imposed a US$1.9 million fine on Apple for supposedly not respecting the consumer rights of Brazilians.
Every couple of years, Apple does something that normally shakes up the entire tech industry. In 2016, the company cast the death sentence against the 3.5mm headphone jack. Naturally, the strategy was initially not accepted well by the market.
It was just too drastic for some users who just invested hard-earned money for a good pair of wired headphones. However, after a couple of months of adapting to wireless earphone technology, the era of the wired earphone feels like it happened in the era of a very distant past.
Fast forward four years after, Apple again did something that is going to shape the future of the smartphone industry in the years to come. In an unprecedented move, Apple did not ship a charging brick with the latest models of the iPhone 12. Some saw this as a genius strategy, while some others believe that this will be more for the benefit of Apple.
Brazilian government imposes a $1.9 million fine against Apple
The Brazilian government leans more towards the latter belief. It imposed a $1.9 million fine against Apple for misleading advertising by selling a device without the charger. This is the first time that Procon-SP, Brazil’s consumer protection agency, has any hostility towards anything that Apple does.
Procon-SP said that removing the charger from the box does not actually demonstrate any environmental gain. In other words, it just forces consumers to consider buying another brick charger on top of the already expensive tag on the iPhone 12.
Meanwhile, Apple didn’t respond if the price of the iPhone 12 reduced when the company decided not to ship the phones with a charger.
Procon-SP also imposed the fine against Apple because of unfair policy terms. According to its investigations, Apple exempts itself from all legal and implicit guarantees and against hidden or not apparent defects.
Wireless charging for iPhone could be the future
In lieu of the charging brick, Apple advertised the latest MagSafe charger for the iPhone. It is essentially a charging pad that sticks to the back of the iPhone 12 to charge the unit. Some tech reviewers find the charging gimmicky.
However, it can’t be denied that it may be the preview of a future where wireless charging is the norm. After all, there are already rumors of Apple completely getting rid of the Thunderbolt port down the line.
Should this happen, the iPhone will already be free from any cords, thereby pushing for a truly overall wireless experience.
Image from MacRumors/ YouTube thumbnail