Behind the decision to remove the charger of smartphone manufacturers

Last year, Apple changed its sales policy by not including the charger that came with the iPhone 12, a controversial move at the time and created a new trend for cell phone makers. after that.

However, Apple has constantly encountered responses from users and regulators alike. Most recently, the “apple family” has been imposed a $ 2 million fine by the consumer protection agency in Sao Paulo (Procon-SP) in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, for violating the Consumer Act for not having a charger in new iPhone box.

Procon-SP believes that they have not seen any environmental benefits brought by Apple. The agency criticized Apple for allegedly misleading advertising, selling devices with no chargers, and unfair terms, which are under strict scrutiny in the country.

The CEO of Procon-SP, Capez, issued a stern warning after sanctioning Apple, hoping that the “Apple house” would comply with Brazilian consumer laws and related regulations. At the same time, Apple has the right to oppose the penalty and require reevaluation by law enforcement.

Specifically, on iPhone 12 models, Apple announced that it will not include an included charger to reduce carbon emissions and limit the use of rare earth metals. As soon as the iPhone 12 officially went on sale in Brazil, the country’s authorities warned Apple was violating the Consumer Protection Act by selling iPhones without chargers in the box.

Apple responded later, asserting that most customers have spare devices and don’t need to supply other chargers in the box. The incident caused an uproar at the time, especially among iPhone fanatics, but did not seem to affect sales of the iPhone 12 series.

In addition to Brazil, many iPhone fanatics in the US and some other regions such as the EU and Asia reacted fiercely to Apple’s decision. Not long ago, a man in Yunnan, China filed a lawsuit in court demanding a lawsuit against the “Apple House” for selling iPhones without a charger. The case received public attention for a long time. In Vietnam, many users also criticized Apple and said that “declaring to reduce the sale of chargers to limit electronic waste and to protect the environment of Apple is a rather clumsy anti-restraint”.

With a fine of $ 2 million in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the online community said that this number is not enough “deterrent”, because the change of Apple, despite facing mixed reactions from users, opens a Directions for Android smartphone manufacturers. Some sources indicated that Samsung will do this in the future, but specific plans have not been announced.

The charging equipment market is full of potentials

Is environmental protection the main cause of smartphone manufacturers’ decision to remove bundled chargers? In fact, analysts say, the charging device market with high profits is the reason why Apple and other manufacturers make decisions against the wishes of users.

Currently, charging devices can be divided into wired charging, wireless charging, normal charging and fast charging depending on the charging speed and energy transmission method. Especially with the development of fast charging technology, many phone companies offer a variety of chargers.

Notably, not all fast chargers are compatible with each other depending on the charging protocol. The most popular charging protocols today are PD and QC, while major manufacturers have a common number of users and it is difficult to agree on standards. So, even if there is no charger included, users still tend to buy and use original chargers to ensure the safety of the device.

According to market data, it is estimated that by 2022, the global wired charging market will reach 11,431 billion USD; wireless charger market reached 1,564 billion USD; Conventional charger market reached 8,688 billion USD; fast charger market will reach 2.743 billion USD. With these figures, if Android manufacturers follow Apple in the future, the market for third-party chargers will continue to expand and is expected to reach $ 15 billion (based on 1.4 billion). new smartphones sold every year).