SEPTEMBER 2020 MACWORLD 45We’re already expecting Apple to
remove the Lightning earbuds (go.
macworld.com/rmeb) from the iPhone 12
box, but not including a charger is on a
whole other level. Yes, excellent chargers
from Anker and Aukey are often on sale,
but that’s not the point. It’s bad enough
that Apple doesn’t include a cable with its
chargers or a headphone dongle with the
iPhone 12. A pair of earbuds, a dongle,
even a headphone jack are auxiliary
features that enhance the experience. A
charger is a necessity. ■to open your new iPhone and see a blank
space where the charger used to be.
Since phones don’t ship with a full charge,
many people plug them in during setup,
and now it looks like they’re going to need
to bring their own charger to do it. Maybe
Apple will cut the price of its own chargers
and hopefully they’ll at least supply a
USB-C-to-Lightning cable in the box. But
this still feels like nickel-and-diming.
It’s early enough in the iPhone 12
manufacturing process where Apple could
still go either way, so it’s a good time to
test the waters. A rumor like this was
certain to spread like wildfire, so if Apple
was looking to gauge the public’s reaction
before signing off on the final decision, the
timing and the source is perfect.
But while the backlash might be
enough for Apple to backtrack on the
iPhone 12 and include a charger, it’s pretty
safe to assume the iPhone 13—which is
already rumored to be completely portless
(go.macworld.com/ptls)—won’t have one.
And I wouldn’t be surprised to see other
phone makers follow suit. Just like the
headphone jack, camera cutout, and
gesture navigation, I expect Samsung and
other Android phone makers to at least
explore their options when it comes to
chargers if Apple removes one from the
iPhone 12. Before long, buying a phone
with a power adapter could be as rare as
finding one with a headphone jack.
We’re expecting
Apple to remove the
Lightning earbuds from
the iPhone 12 box.