Recently, Apple announced the launch of the new iPhone 12 series of smartphones. Featuring an all-new design, 5G capability, and a new and improved camera module, Apple believes that the iPhone 12 series has what it takes to be the best in its generation.
One of the things that actually caught people’s attention during the launch, however, is their new packaging policy. Usually, when you buy an iPhone, this is what comes in the box:
- Standard Paperwork and Manual
- Apple Stickers
- iPhone
- Earpods
- Charging Wire and Charging brick.
This year, however, Apple has decided to go eco-friendly and reduce its carbon footprint, by taking the monumental decision of removing the Power brick from the box. Yes, moving forward, iPhones will not come with a Power brick in the box.
This piece of news was heavily rumored months before the actual launch, and while the initial reaction from fans was that of ridicule, we gave it a thought ourselves and this is what we think.
- If you are an existing iPhone user, then you probably have an iPhone or iPad power brick lying around in your house, in which case, you don’t really need another power brick at all.
- If you use a newer Android device and have upgraded to the iPhone, you can use the power brick from the Android phone as well. Yes, we know that the iPhone still has the Thunderbolt charging port, but Apple will be bundling a Thunderbolt to USB Type C cable in the box. This way you can charge your iPhone with a Quick Charger as well.
- If you do not have a power brick at home, but you do have a laptop that has a Type C charging port, you can just plug in your iPhone 12 to the laptop and charge it that way.
- The iPhone 12 series also supports Qi wireless charging, and the new MagSafe technology and charger are capable of charging the iPhone 12 at full 15W. If you win a Qi Wireless charger, you are set in that respect as well.
As you can see, Apple has given this a fair amount of thought, and we believe, the conclusion was that most people buying an iPhone, already have the hardware required to charge the phone, and giving them an extra charging brick, which will probably just lay idle, is only going to do more damage to the environment.
One more accessory that has been removed from the iPhone 12 box, is the EarPods. The reasoning is the same. The iPhone 12 works with existing Earpods, Airpods, and other Bluetooth headphones/earphones as well. So, once again, adding one more pair of EarPods seems counterproductive.
With the two elements removed from the box, Apple has predicted that they will be eliminating almost 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually, which is roughly equal to 4,50,000 fewer cars on the road per year.
This has also resulted in a more compact packaging size, and as such, Apple can now fit in more inventory and cater to a much bigger demand, thereby given them a larger footprint in the market.
Yes, the decision is a monumental one, but we won’t be surprised to see other smartphone brands adopt the same
