The launch of the iPhone 14 could be in trouble in Brazil, as the country's Justice Ministry has fined the Cupertino tech giant 2.275 million reais ($2.38 million) and ordered it to stop selling iPhone 12 and newer models.
As reported by Reuters, this is due to Apple not including a battery charger in the box, which is deemed to be an essential component in a "deliberate discriminatory practice against consumers."
Apple states that the exclusion of a power adapter is to reduce the impact of carbon emissions, but, as the report points out, Brazil authorities have rejected this argument as is "no evidence that selling the smartphone without a charger offers environmental protections."
No charger, no emissions
In a comment to Bloomberg, Apple states it will appeal the ruling ban on iPhone sales. “Power adapters represented our largest use of zinc and plastic and eliminating them from the box helped cut over 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions — equivalent to removing 500,000 cars from the road per year," the company said in an email statement.
Apple is looking optimistic about the outcome, as the company says it has "already won a number of court decisions in Brazil on this topic and are confident our customers are aware of the various options to charge and connect their devices.”
Since the iPhone 12, Apple decided not to include a power adapter in the box. The reasoning behind this is due to the countless USB-A power adapters available to customers, whether they already have them from past iPhone or other smartphone purchases, or through third-party sellers.
Apple introduced MagSafe as another means of charging, but the decision was still met with mixed reactions. This isn't the first time Brazil had problems with Apple not including a charger, as São Paulo previously fined the Cupertino tech giant $2 million for not including a charger (via MacRumors)
Whatever the case, that's not stopping the iPhone 14 from announcing today (check out our Apple September "Far Out" event live blog). However, if you are looking for different ways to charge your iPhone, check out this awesome MagSafe stand.
