99 Features but the charger aint one - alternatives to no charger.

99 features, but the charger aint one.

This week Apple released their iPhone12 lines of phones, and in an effort to cut down on waste and packaging they will no longer be including chargers with any of their phones. Is this a good thing, will it actually prevent more waste; in my opinion no it won't.

Why not?

Think about it realistically, it's not as easy as just saying "Oh it's OK most people will use their existing lighting charger".


What if you aren't an existing iPhone user and need a charger as all you have lying round your house are USB-C chargers (the more popular go to these days for charging a plethora of smartphones and tech gadgets).


What if your existing charger is beaten up or need new cables anyway? What if you want a fast charging charger. You're going to need to buy a new one, thus more packaging, more manufacturing effects on the environment, therefore actually less environmentally friendly, unless the packaging is 100% recyclable.



Or is this jut a clever marketing ploy; don't include what the consumer needs and then charge them again for it, whilst putting an eco-friendly spin on it. Chargers are cheap to manufacture, so not including them for free with the phone unit, they can cash in on those switching to Apple ecosystem.


Apple are possibly guilt tripping their consumers into thinking twice about purchasing a new one. If the company really did care about the environment, it would have switched to USB Type-C. This would mean they could encourage customers to use their existing cables provided with their new Macbooks and iPads truly reducing production of chargers and such.

Environmentally friendly phones

Recently I came across a phone which blew my mind. Its from a company called Teracube (@Teracube on twitter) or their website . The phone comes with a 4year warranty , a bio-degradable case, and is "DIY repairable" meaning you can order new parts and fix it yourself, as well as a removable battery; meaning that forever familiar reason for upgrading a phone (depleted battery) is no more.


So how much does this wonder phone cost. Well that's the beauty of this company. The phone retails at $200!!

Being only their second major phone project They needed crowd funded to begin their second phone project (mainly for manufacturing costs). With a target of £19,357 (yes very specific number), they hit this within the first few days, and are currently at £134,459 smashing their original target showing the backing and interest in lower budget, eco-friendly smartphones.

Remedy

So rather than simply not putting a charger in the box, why don't more phone manufacturers look at manufacturing more sustainable phones and accessories. Or perhaps think about moving to a more uniform approach, i don't know like USB-C. That way everyone could use the same chargers for multiple phones. Then why not go one extra step and manufacture them from sustainable / recyclable materials.