Apple sued by Chinese students over iPhone’s lack of cables

The students allege that Apple’s claims of environmental concerns are simply to push customers towards its MagSafe products

Apple China Removed Apps (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A group of Chinese students is suing Apple for not providing a charger with the iPhone.

Apple stopped shipping power adapters with new iPhones in 2020, claiming that it would reduce carbon emissions.

However, students in Beiking and Shanghai have reportedly challenged this argument in court, according to Vice and the Shanghai Law Journal, arguing that the USB-C to Lightning cable that came with the iPhone 12 was not compatible with other chargers on the market. As such, the students were not able to charge their phone as advertised.

The students have also argued that Apple is in fact using environmental concerns as a cover to push users towards its MagSafe wireless chargers.

They have demanded that Apple provide a wall charger for an iPhone 12 Pro Max to one student, pay 100 yuan (£11.39) for breach of contract, and cover their legal fees.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent before time of publication.

Brazil has also levied fines against Apple for not including a charger in the box, giving the iPhone manufacturer a $2 million fine in March 2021.

Apple could be forced to change its iPhone charging port in future in order to comply with EU law, with the European Commission suggesting that phones, tablets, cameras, headphones, portable speakers and handheld video game consoles could all use USB-C - in order to reduce waste.

“European consumers were frustrated long enough about incompatible chargers piling up in their drawers,” Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president for the European Commission’s Europe Fit for the Digital Age strategy, said in a statement.

“We gave industry plenty of time to come up with their own solutions, now time is ripe for legislative action for a common charger. This is an important win for our consumers and environment and in line with our green and digital ambitions.”