The Brazilian consumer watchdog fined Apple $ 2 million for failing to add chargers to the iPhone 12 series. The watchdog claims that Apple conducted misleading advertising and sold a device without a charger on unfair terms.

In October 2020, Apple announced that it would not ship a charger or headphones with the iPhone 12 series. The company says this was done to solve environmental issues, which means the phones only have the device and cable in the box.

“Apple must understand that there are solid consumer protection laws and institutions in Brazil. It must respect these laws and these institutions,” Fernando Capez, Executive Director of Procon-SP, was quoted by the IANS news agency.

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In the US, the iPhone 12 Mini costs $ 729. In Brazil, the same phone is valued at $ 1,200. The company claims such measures are a way to limit the company’s carbon footprint. According to Apple, this measure will reduce 2 million tons of carbon. This corresponds to the removal of 450,000 cars per year.

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Many companies are advocating Apple’s move and have stopped shipping chargers with phones. However, critics believe this is another tactic to keep customers charging the same price for lower services, based on the flawed assumption that everyone already owns a device from the same company.

The American giant has been fined by Procon-SP, a consumer protection agency. Apple has not yet responded to the fine.

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