Everything’s still ‘fine’ with Apple’s iPhone charger policy

Welcome to our weekly collection of all the Apple news you missed this week, in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too.

Where’s my iPhone charger?!

A blast from the past this week, with a reminder from Brazil of a controversy that rocked the Apple world–or nudged it slightly, at any rate–back in 2020.

That was the year when Apple decided, citing environmental impact, to stop bundling power chargers with new iPhones. You’d still get the cable, but the wall charger would be absent, resulting in a slimmer box and lower manufacturing and delivery costs for the company. (But not a lower price tag, note–unless we start to speculate that the price would have gone up if the charger hadn’t been removed, which as far as I know even Apple hasn’t tried to claim.) The idea was that most people already had chargers at home, and that most bundled chargers were ending up in landfill.

It’s fair to say this argument was not universally well received at the time, but in most parts of the world it was eventually accepted as just one of those things; predictably a number of Android manufacturers took the opportunity to do exactly the same thing and cut their own costs while as usual letting Apple take the PR flak. But the Brazilian government was less inclined to let the matter drop, claiming the practice was abusive and fining the company $2m in March 2021. And this week (as reported by Insider) the company has been instructed to pay one specific Brazilian consumer the equivalent of $1,081 for selling him an iPhone with no charger. Apple could find that money by cutting back on Craig Federighi’s hairspray budget, but it will be wary of the size of the bill if it starts having to do the same thing for everyone.

I’m no expert on Brazilian law, but the legal arguments as reported do seem a little tenuous. The judge ruled the situation a “tie sale,” which Insider glosses as a customer having to buy two of a company’s products in order for one of them to work–yet, as Apple itself pointed out, the iPhone and cable it sold would have worked perfectly well with compatible plugs supplied by any number of third-party manufacturers. Presumably the lawyers are all over that kind of detail.

The long-term consequences of the ruling remain uncertain. Will it be the first of an avalanche of such cases? Will Apple be forced to make changes in what it sells? Or will the company, as usual, end up doing pretty much what it likes? I know what I expect.

In any case, it’s a fascinating reminder of a controversy that’s been largely forgotten in the US and the UK. Whether you approach the issue from a perspective of environmental concern or personal choice, it always made sense for Apple to unbundle the phone and the charger (and the headphones too, for that matter). If you’ve already got a charger, as so many iPhone buyers do, then why should the additional financial and material costs of another one be factored into the transaction? The issue was one of presentation. The perception was that Apple was taking something away, when it should have presented it as not asking you to pay for something you don’t need. A discount voucher for a charger from its store or a small price cut to reflect the lower costs would have helped. But that would have been a concession, and until recently they were something that Apple didn’t do.

Trending: Top stories of the week

We’ve got 10 awesome iPhone features you probably don’t use (but should).

Everything has 5G now. When will it be the Mac’s turn?

Meanwhile, the Macalope is here with the alternate view: 5G is a joke and the iPhone is the well-timed punchline.

The original HomePod is having a moment and we’re not sure why.

Apple is expanding one iPhone child-safety feature to the UK, but another remains in limbo following pushback from privacy groups.

Pour one out for macOS Server, which has been discontinued after 23 years.

The rumor mill

Leaked iPhone 14 case molds confirm big changes are on the way.

Could Apple’s rumored new HomePod actually be a tiny Studio Display?

Things are about to get very interesting for the iPhone’s charging port…

…But it looks like we’re stuck with notches and holes until at least the iPhone 16.

Apple TV+ might soon become the premier streaming sports service, with NFL games rumored to be coming in 2023.

Podcast of the week

Version 13 of the Mac operating system will make its debut at WWDC this June. And while we don’t know what Apple will reveal, we do know what we want to see. In this episode of the Macworld Podcast, it’s our wishlist for macOS 13.

You can catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast on Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our own site.

Software updates, bugs & other issues

The second macOS Monterey 12.4 beta is here. If you’re running Universal Control, make sure your macOS and iOS versions jive.

Talking of which, a second iOS 15.5 beta has landed with visual tweaks and hints of new features.

Want to charge your iPhone more quickly? Here’s how to update the MagSafe Battery Pack.

We explain how to fix mail server errors in Apple Mail for macOS.

And here’s how to reduce notifications by controlling time sensitivity in iOS/iPadOS 15.

And with that, we’re done for this week. If you’d like to get regular roundups, sign up for our newsletters. You can also follow us on Twitter for breaking news stories. See you next Saturday, enjoy your weekend, and stay Appley!