Apple has made an estimated $6.57 billion by no longer providing chargers and earphones with its new iPhones, according to one analyst.
Daniel Jones for The Daily Mail:
Since 2020, Apple has charged £19 for a new plug or earphones. Critics argue that if it had passed on the full savings, including an estimated 40 per cent reduction in shipping costs as smaller packaging allows 70 per cent more devices on each pallet, iPhone prices would be lower.
Experts believe that Apple, whose new iPhones cost up to £1,549, could be saving about £27 on each phone. The analysis takes into account that while the adapters and earphones sell for £19, they are far cheaper to produce.
Ben Wood, chief analyst at technology experts CCS Insight, said: ‘Apple is the phone industry market leader in helping the environment, with removing chargers and headphones one of many things it is doing. But of course there is a cost saving to Apple in removing chargers and headphones when it sells iPhones.’
Since announcing the move, Apple is thought to have sold 190 million iPhones worldwide. Total gains from removing chargers and earphones, plus reduced shipping costs, could be as high as £5 billion [US$6.57 billion], with an additional estimated £225 million from the sale of accessories.
MacDailyNews Take: When Apple made this move in October 2020, the company stated:
Apple is also removing the power adapter and EarPods from iPhone packaging, further reducing carbon emissions and avoiding the mining and use of precious materials, which enables smaller and lighter packaging, and allows for 70 percent more boxes to be shipped on a pallet. Taken altogether, these changes will cut over 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually, equivalent to removing nearly 450,000 cars from the road per year.
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Fixed it for you: Apple makes an extra $6.57 billion making customers buy chargers and earphones after spending upto $1100 on new iPhones
Right on! They save probably millions by not providing the basics and make billions more on sales.
Thank you cheapskate beancounter Cook raking in the billions feathering the corporate beds and thumbing your nose at Apple tradition and taxing the loyal Apple customer.
Cook must go customers are more important than profits…
“Thank you cheapskate beancounter Cook raking in the billions feathering the corporate beds and thumbing your nose at Apple tradition and taxing the loyal Apple customer.”
Exactly! Thank you!
Removing the basic charger to force you buy more expensive 20W charger. Or, how about MagSafe (really stupid idea. Only by Apple)?
Removing perfectly fine basic earphone set to force far more expensive EarPods? I do not want to be forced to buy anything but just give me a choice. Then, I might choose to buy Christian Dior earpods.
Things became so PETTY in the recent decade. But what really bothers me, beyond petty and fragrant excuse, is that all these are done by milking longtime loyal customers (I am one o them, Ha!) who have been corralled into the secret Apple Garden which only benefits Apple. If Apple at least have some decency to pay a bit more respect to the loyal customers by differentiate us, charging more to non-Apple users, it somewhat appeases our disgust, but we know it is difficult to differentiate between Apple users and Android users, for example. I don’t need a pair of noodle earpods (which I chose not to buy. I admit I have a set but painted with skin tone color. White plastic is the cheapest plastic material. Its a natural color of very base plastic material) but give us back the phone jack.
Forget about environment or carbon something excuse which Tim thinks trendy.
Hell has frozen over.
Hal is wrong as usual. He continues to live in the past.
Once upon a time, when people got their first mobile devices, every manufacturer including Apple had different ports and they changed every few years. Firewire, 5 flavors of USB, proprietary connections, analog and digital…. The buyer needed a new charger or adapter, generating tons of needless electronic landfill fodder. Those days are gone.
Anybody with a brain knows you can now buy better chargers, cables, and headphones than the mediocre overpriced stuff Apple offers. You can buy top quality stuff that isn’t built in China. You can buy accessories that work well with products from many manufacturers. You can also buy cheaper options if you’re a tightwad like Hal.
Only a fool would whine about the benefit of not having to buy Apple’s bundled white plastic stuff that the smart buyer would not want in a competitive market anyway. If you really think Apple’s accessories can’t be beat, then put down the kool aid and open your mind.
You would be correct if Apple compensated something for what they took away.
Every year Apple gives you an iPhone with a new faster chipset, new cameras, and free software upgrades, while the base price of an iPhone has been held in check better than many commodities you buy. The price of the charger and headphones has been compensated to you.
I agree with Reason. Apple iPhone accessories have always been poor Ive designs: neither ergonomic nor durable. The Apple cables are too thin/fragile, the square edges on cable ends and in-line mikes catch on everything, the slippery surface of connectors and chargers is hard to grip, the one-size hard plastic headphone tips don’t fit everyone’s ears. Indeed one can find better and/or cheaper chargers and cables these days.
It reeks of entitlement mentality to complain that if you paid “upto $1100” for the latest iPhone, you’re too stupid to reuse the accessories from your prior iPhone and too cheap to replace any accessories that may be worn out. Go buy the $430 iPhone if you’re on a budget. Some people just love to whine.
And every year I pay flagship pricing, not petty pricing.
Only you can determine what price you’re willing to pay. If you upgrade every year, then you’ve clearly got plenty of disposable income.
Starting at $430, the SE is within anyone’s price range here. I haven’t had any use for Apple’s flagship phones. Never was a fan of Facial ID, and most of us don’t need 3 cameras. If one must have the top model at all times, then put in 1-2 more weeks of work (literally) before you bust out your wallet for the full-bling model.
Totally agree. If we received lower prices in return, great. In the tight wad Cook world you get less and spend more…
Your reply is just as stupid as your vote for the lying, corrupt, racist dementia patient and whore.
“The buyer needed a new charger or adapter, generating tons of needless electronic landfill fodder. Those days are gone.” – Sorry to inform you that “those days are gone” is inaccurate and electronic fodder has been replaced by disposable COVID masks that you see littering the ground and landfills everywhere.
Every billion counts
They have to have money for al those European fines. LOL
.
I still think it was done for the environment…it’s Tim’s top concern. Every inch of copper is needed for the Great EV Reset.
This is a facile calculation. There is no way the independent retail price of a charger should be subtracted from the retail price of an iPhone. Besides, most customers already have multiple chargers from Apple or third parties. Clickbait headline.
Yep, and facile is being kind in its description. This is largely just made-up, once every couple of month clickbait article, gets this unknown group free advertising due to it being an emotional opioid for the dim masses who need something to sate their unhinged confirmation bias.
Many iPhone users already have a lightning charging brick from previous ownership. Sending every iPhone with a brick is a junk drawer item. Notice how this article (and the dimwits getting all giddy over this emotional opiod) ignore that? And for a substantial slice of users, MagSafe or (pre iPhone 12) QI charging is their charging method. Even more unneeded. Also notice they use the Apple price, not the cheap Chinese charging brick that costs nothing. A charging brick with every iPhone purchase is absolutely not needed for the majority.
Further, the phones are constantly getting better specs. So these dimwits reviewed Apple’s books to see they take savings here and put that into better spec over there without adding cost. I know that also doesn’t fit for the emotional tizzy people but these clickbaiter articles have zero, none, idea of COGS. Further, per people whose job it is to actually and really know metrics/facts, Apple’s gross profit on hardware has seen virtually no growth. What it has has been due to customers buying the higher end models. Apple’s increase in gross profit has been due to their software and subscription business, not their hardware business. This is why Apple has seen its PE rise som much in the last few years. Their software and subscription.
But facts will never change the unhinged minds.
Maybe they can replace the charging block and earphones they ‘removed’ with extra cables. Those Apple cable casings crack so easily within a year.
I am happy to report that Apple finally got wise with the MacBook charging cable. It’s a proper tough woven sheath instead of Apple’s past cheapass skinny white disposable cable.
It only took Apple 20 years to get the message.
“Apple is also removing the power adapter and EarPods from iPhone packaging, further reducing carbon emissions and avoiding the mining and use of precious materials, which enables smaller and lighter packaging, and allows for 70 percent more boxes to be shipped on a pallet.”
But then people have to then go online or drive around to shop for chargers and earbuds. Seems like this would negate or even make “carbon” emissions worse.
And for the record, the term “carbon” emissions is wrong. Carbon dioxide (also known as plant food” is what is mainly produced from burning fossil fuels. Carbon and CO2 are two different things.
This statement:
“Taken altogether, these changes will cut over 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually, equivalent to removing nearly 450,000 cars from the road per year.”
Should say:
“Taken altogether, these changes will cut over 2 million metric tons of plant food emissions annually, equivalent to removing nearly 10,000 private jets of the rich from the skies per year.”
The use of the term “Carbon emissions” covers not just CO2, but also Carbon Monoxide, and other unburned complex carbons from coal and petroleum based sources burned for energy. Though minor, burned engine oil and fine particulates of tire rubber may also fall under the definition.
In terms of climate change, when they talk about “carbon” emissions, they are referring to plant food (carbon dioxide).
Do you have a specific list of all to the unburned complex carbon types?
I don’t know the full range of carbon compounds that come out of a coal burning plant nor what comes out of a normal combustion engine car/mower/generator, but I can tell you it’s not only CO2.
Doritos : take chips out of the bag little by little and charge the same price.
In the case of Doritos, fatass Americans should cut back anyway. No other nation has adopted as obscenely oversized corn syrup and soy filled diet as Big Ag lobbyied America.
In keeping with mdn tradition, let’s make it political: because you are what you eat, that would make obese fatheads Hal and First and the trump troll army here all Soy Boys. The farmers who rushed to get fed insurance and subsidies are welfare queens. Can’t deny it, all you can do is whine and copy&paste lame memes. See how nice it is to receive pointless insults, trumpists? Right back atcha.
I wish they’d put USB-C in the phone… then stop putting a cord in the box. I already have USB-C cords and I don’t need any more.
They can save much more tons of waste if they just stop producing iPhones, not only chargers.
Good grief.🙄
Apple / Tim are right.
I’ve got so many flipping chargers and cables and earphones in my desk drawer.
For laptops, iPads, iPhones, iPods…
I – AND THE PLANET – DON’T NEED ANY MORE!!!
“Apple is also removing the power adapter and EarPods from iPhone packaging, further reducing carbon emissions and avoiding the mining and use of precious materials, which enables smaller and lighter packaging, and allows for 70 percent more boxes to be shipped on a pallet. Taken altogether, these changes will cut over 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually, equivalent to removing nearly 450,000 cars from the road per year.’
SOUNDS GOOD! Until you buy a power adapter and EarPods either from Apple, if available, or third party from Amazon where you have the power adapter packaging, the ear pod packaging and the Amazon packaging, plus two or more shipments to you probably using fossil fueled vehicles be they gas or electric (see below).
That’s like a fossil fueled power plant providing electricity to your charging station for your electric car. But you have your electric car and so you think you are doing something for the world. Bless your little heart!
Get a really good charger from Anker and it will last through several iPhone and iPad purchases. I got a four port charger and use it for the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and have another cable plugged in for charging my bicycle light and an LED desk lamp.
Thank you KenT, well said.
In greater detail you hit the nail on the head. My Number One complaint against the GREED CAPITALIST beancounter without a creative bone in his body running Apple.
Loyal fans like you and I for decades remember ear buds and chargers included with iPhones from Day One; keyboards and mice with computer purchases; ample number of ports, headphone Jack, DVD slots, card readers on computers; open boxes to upgrade hard disks and ram and so on.
BOTTOM LINE: Under Cook, Apple spectacularly SHORTCHANGED loyal fans OPTIONS while keeping the prices high with zero discount for features REMOVED. As the article pointed out saving millions and making billions more on replacing what is missing is a capitalist slap in the face to customers young and old alike.
Now that Tim is alarmed schools can’t teach alternative sex to five year-olds and REPEATEDLY SOAKING his loyal customers, it’s obvious he does not have the USERS as priority.
Cook made enough money, Apple made enough money at our expense. Time to hit the trail Tim and bring in a creative CEO that cares about everything and NOT just profits…