Apple Will No Longer Be Able To Sell iPhones Without A Charger... Says Brazil Govt

The Brazilian government has dealt Apple a massive legal blow just as the company is about to unveil its iPhone 14 lineup. Today, the latter issued an order prohibiting the sale of any iPhone that does not include a charger.

As a point of reference, Apple removed the charger from the box with the iPhone 12 at first and has not done so with any subsequent iPhone models. This means that all iPhones released in the last three years are no longer legal to purchase in Brazil.

Brazilian authorities first published this information in the country's official gazette. It was then covered in detail by Reuters in a separate article.

The ruling was made on the grounds that taking away the charger amounted to "deliberate discrimination against customers." The charger is not provided because of environmental concerns, which is Apple's standard defence, did not hold up in court.

This is not the first time Apple has faced legal action over a controversial practise. It should be mentioned that the Cupertino business is currently under pressure from lawmakers all over the world to give up its exclusive Lightning port in favour of USB-C – specifically for the benefit of customers.

It's true that the majority of significant smartphone manufacturers prefer the practise of excluding a charger from the packaging. It's debatable whether the attractiveness is due to the potential environmental effects or the higher business margins.

However, those that want to keep their access to the Brazilian market must forgo this strategy. To avoid conflicts with the Brazilian authorities, Samsung, for instance, did include a charger with its most recent Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 foldable devices.

Apple has not yet made a formal announcement. It is quite unlikely for the American tech giant to sit inactive given the enormity of the Brazilian market. There will be a response soon.