Brazil dropped a bomb on Apple this week when the country’s government told the tech giant it could no longer sell iPhones within its borders without a wall charger.
The order comes from Brazilian Ministry of Justice and Public Security (opens in a new tab) which claims that Apple sells people an “incomplete product.” The ministry goes even as far as call no chargers (opens in a new tab) “Deliberate discriminatory practice against consumers”. Moreover, the Brazilian government is ordering Apple to pay a fine of more than 12 million reais (about $ 2.3 million), and the iPhone 12 will no longer be registered with the National Telecommunications Agency; better known as Anatel (opens in a new tab). You can think of it as the Brazilian version of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
As announced, the Brazilian authorities are not buying Apple’s argument that the omission of the charger was made for the sake of the environment. National consumer protection agency Senacon (National Consumer Secretariat) says there is no evidence that selling an iPhone without a charger is helping the environment. If anything, then … A “burden” for consumers (opens in a new tab). Senacon responds by suggesting Apple switch to USB-C cables and chargers if it really wants to help the environment.
This news comes at a really awkward moment for Apple as it comes the day before the company is expected to maintain its great success September Far Out event (opens in a new tab) where people expect to see the new iPhone 14. It is not known whether Brazil’s announcement will affect the event or the new device.
We contacted Apple and asked if they would like to make a statement on the announcement. This story will be updated if we get a reply.
Constant challenges
This suspension is the latest in a series of regulatory challenges, not only from Brazil but also from countries around the world.
The challenges from Brazil in particular have been going on for some time. In 2021 (opens in a new tab), another consumer protection agency PROCON-SP (São Paulo State Foundation for Protection and Consumer Protection) fined Apple 10.5 million reais (about $ 2 million) for similar reasons. It also states that there is no evidence that the omission of the wall charger is helping the environment and that the company was carrying out “misleading advertising”.
Brazil also wants to copy the European Union’s recent moves order that all smartphones use the same USB-C charging standard. Most modern Android phones already use USB-C cables, so this change will mainly affect Apple, which is slowly adopting this format. Anatel is a leader on this front and intends to implement the USB-C principles for devices by July 1, 2024.
The The European Union has already made its move because “it will require all mobile phones, tablets and other electronic devices to have a USB-C charging port by the end of 2024.” Lawmakers in the EU were frustrated that the smartphone industry was moving at a snail’s pace in search of a compromise, so they opted for a move instead.
Protruding
While the EU is moving forward with USB-C, the situation is different in the UK and the US.
In particular, the United Kingdom, will not require Apple to adopt a single charging standard and I have no plans to change this opinion in the near future. In the United States, neither party has attempted to establish a universal fee standard. Are some senators in Congress are pushing for the USB-C standard (opens in a new tab) but nothing else.
It is entirely possible that UK and US customers will have a different standard than the EU and Brazil if the latter decides to deliver on its USB-C charger promises. But at the same time, it’s possible that Apple might just give up and use USB-C for future devices, rather than making two different iPhones with different charging standards for different countries.
The second option sounds like a giant manufacturing hassle for Apple. At this point, we just have to wait and see how Apple responds. As announced, Brazil will allow the company to appeal this decision.
If you want to find out what’s coming to Apple’s Far Out event, be sure to follow TechRadar coverage on September 7.