According to recent rumors, Apple is thinking about not packing in the iPhone Charger nor EarPods with the version of the iPhone due later this year. When I first heard the rumor, I didn’t believe it. I felt like it was a terrible move to make and would upset iPhone users

The more I thought about it though, the more I felt like I would be okay without the iPhone charger or the EarPods.

So Many iPhone Chargers

Last year, Apple announced that they were finally providing a better charger in the box for the iPhone 11 Pros. This new charger came with a USB-C to Lightning cable in the box as well as the new 18-watt charger that came with the iPad Pros from 2018. This would allow the iPhone to charge faster than with the standard 5-watt charger that every iPhone prior came with. It was nice because the new charger wasn’t much larger than the tiny 5-watt brick that came with the iPhone since the beginning.

Over time though, these chargers have added up. I have too many little 5-watt bricks hidden around the house because they’ve just been tossed in draws and forgotten with every new iPhone.

That’s my home though. Throughout the ages, I’ve owned an iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and every iPhone since then. Each time, I sold or traded in my current phone to upgrade to the new iPhone. I can’t remember ever attaching the charger with it. When Apple introduced the iPhone Upgrade Program, you didn’t even need to bring anything with you but the phone when you traded your old phone in for the new one.

I doubt that everyone has upgraded phones as often as I have, but I’m willing to bet that many people do have chargers laying around that hardly get used. Or if they do upgrade to a new iPhone, they won’t be trading in or getting rid of their current chargers.

Plus, chargers aren’t that expensive if you someone did need to buy one.

Charging Has Changed

Furthermore, charging has changed. The only time I ever plug my iPhone into a charger anymore is when I’m traveling or my battery has been exhausted and I still need it. Otherwise, my iPhone goes on a wireless charger at night.

The wireless charger didn’t come with my iPhone, it was a purchase I made once the iPhone added Qi charging. It makes charging the iPhone as simple as setting it down. I don’t have to line up any cables, those cables just disappear.

Wires are becoming a thing of the past. So if Apple wants to cut back on offering chargers, I’d be okay with it since I already have my wireless charger.

Benefits of Not Including an iPhone Charger

For Apple, if they are able to ditch the extras in the iPhone box, they could make the box slimmer. For Apple, that’s a win because they can now fit more iPhones inside a plane or delivery truck. That will save money on shipping.

It will also save them money not having to make as many components that go with the iPhone. Sure it’s nice to always get a new charger with a new iPhone, but as I mentioned, I hardly ever use it.

EarPods might be harder for some to lose. It’s nice to have an extra pair laying around for when you need it. Some users might see this as Apple trying to push users to buy more expensive AirPods instead. But you don’t have to do that either. I would recommend AirPods, but you can always get the same EarPods from Apple or any other pair of headphones that you want.

Finally, with all these savings, it is possible that Apple can pass them on to the user. I’ve wanted the price of the top-of-line iPhone to drop for a while now and dropping the iPhone charger is one way they could do that.

Will they drop the price? That’s the question.

Wrap Up

The news made me angry and I didn’t think that there was a way that Apple could drop the charger or the EarPods from the iPhone box. After thinking about it and stumbling upon all my old iPhone chargers, I’m okay with taking a break from them being included.

What do you think? Will you be outraged if Apple doesn’t include a charger in this year’s iPhone box? Let me know in the comments and vote in my twitter poll.

Would you be okay if #apple didn’t include a charger or EarPods in the box for the next #iPhone? #iPhone12

— JSwordSmith (@WordsmithJs) July 6, 2020