Judge decides to pay Apple customer $ 1,000 for missing charger in package

Since the launch of the iPhone 12, the Brazilian authorities have not agreed with Apple’s decision to remove the charger from the package of its phones. Now, a year and a half away, Judge Vaires Caires Pinheiro of Brazil’s Goias State has approved a compensation of 5,000 reais, the equivalent of US $ 1,000, which Apple will have to pay for not including a charger in customer’s phone box.

Apple could reintroduce the charger in the phone packages in Brazil

According to the ruling, the judge ruled that a power adapter is essential to the normal operation of the phone and found Apple in violation of local consumer protection laws. This decision could force Apple to either compensate more users in Brazil to whom it sold phones without accessories in the package, or to start including chargers in its phone cases again.

The inclusion of accessories in the package has a precedent in France, where Apple is required to include a pair of wired headphones in the boxes of its phones. iPhones from France come in special boxes, which house both the phone case and a separate box with EarPods with Ligthning plug. Thus, if this lawsuit against the Brazilian company can be used as a legal precedent, it is possible that the iPhones will be sold in this country in a “combo” package.

The judge also rejected the company’s ecological argument:

“The claim that such a measure seeks to reduce the impact on the environment has no value, because the defendant continues to manufacture such an essential accessory, but now sells it separately.”

The judge also criticized Apple for claiming that its chargers are USB-C and can be used to power other devices, that its cables are still proprietary, with a Lightning plug, so they are not universal.

source: Bloomberg