For me this would mostly be a non-issue. I’ve got enough extra USB-C cables that I don’t even unwrap the ones Apple has been shipping. Not to mention that I’m pretty used to charging my AirPods via MagSafe these days anyway.
If I send you an address can you ship some extras, mine seem to die or you get ones that are only 4inches long with something. Throw in that now many devices only have USB C on both ends so your last phone that sold with a USB A to USB C cord, that no longer plugs into new devices, I am always at a shortage.
The 4 inch ones are awesome! I have a whole collection of different 4 inch cables for when I travel, and for when I take my laptop to the cafe. They’re also great for microcontrollers, like the mouse jiggler I made from a pico 2040.
I’m glad someone has found their use, hanging devices off outlets never seems safe to me, or the device just falls as you eventually stretch out the charging ports.
Wish I had a collection of various colored chargers now. You may have inspired me to figure out a way to color code charging devices now.
I just keep it simple. When I travel, I bring my power bank and a tiny cable to charge my phone. When I get to my destination, I recharge my power bank with a longer cable. At each place around my house where I’d want to charge something (desk, bed, etc), I keep a charger nearby, either already plugged in or neatly stored near the outlet.
I never need to worry about where a cable is, because I always have one handy, and it’s just the right size.
If I knew you locally, I’d be open to giving it away. But with the cost of shipping even light usb cables, I think buying a UGREEN cable from Amazon might cost about the same.
Everyone I know has at least 10 USB-C cables lying around, what’s the point of shipping more e-waste?
apple moment
Important to note that they removed the cable from the AirPod 4’s box, not the iPhone’s. They are also not the first company to do this.
sonthey are now pricey one-time/disposable phones
This isn’t for a phone. At least click on the article and read the first sentence.
They should remove the USB-C ports, so you have to send it back to Apple for charging
Soon as we can figure out micro nuclear reactors it may actually work that way!
Beta-voltaic batteries are already a thing.
Huh, you’re right. I didn’t know about that. From Wikipedia:
The Chinese startup claims to have the miniature device in the pilot testing stage. Unveiled in January 2024, it is allegedly generating 100 microwatts of power and a voltage of 3V and has a lifetime of 50 years without any need for charging or maintenance.
Wonder if it microwaves your balls when it’s in your pocket too.
Either way we can dream of a future where we never have to plug in to charge again.
It’s old tech actually. They use it in pacemakers because it’s too difficult to replace or recharge the batteries. I guess you could do wireless charging now, but would you feel much safer with a lithium battery inside of you without a good cooling system? The body’s internal temperature is surprisingly warm when you start doing the engineering.
Why even have a box at this point? Just put the phone in the mail by itself, it’s durable right?
I honestly can’t be mad at this point because what they SHOULD do is sell cables in bulk packaging to the Apple store, and then when they sell a phone they say “Do you need a USB cable? Free with the phone.” If they say “No we’re okay I’ve got hundreds of them by now” no problem, if they say “Yeah in fact can I get two?” Sure. Same with chargers. Of course this is Apple we’re talking about, so they’re probably $69.99 each.
There is a good Adam Savage video on yt about the engineering of the thunderbolt or whatever cables.
They still should be shipped in bulk to the store but it makes more sense why they wouldn’t be given away free
iPhones don’t come with those expensive high-bandwidth cables, they come with charging cables that only do USB 2.0
I’ve had one apart and to be fair they are not carelessly made. They’re jacketed in soft silicone under the braid and have thicker than average stranded conductors. You can totally use whatever cables you want, but theirs are built a little better than you’d think and they just feel nice.
Maybe this is a tactile/autism thing for me?
I could understand if you were buying a pay-as-you-go phone on the cheap… but this is an iPhone you’re talking about. What’s the minimum, $799? I think they can afford to toss a cable your way if you need one.
Yet more proof that Apple has ceased to be an innovator that adds features to phones and now takes things away and leaves it to fans to make up justifications for it.
Removing things is also innovation
Or do you still miss the VGA connector? A floppy disk drive? DVD drive in a laptop?
Those were replaced with better tech that did the exact same thing. VGA - DVI - HDMI - Display Port.
I don’t know about you, but I still have one DVD hooked up. Because I have the option to. Not because the motherboard maker took away all the SATA ports and told me I had to buy a special proprietary dongle or plug to fit the replacement.
I still use most of these regularly, because I don’t waste money on anti-green Apple products.
Is using a 30 year old VGA monitor “green”?
They’re still innovating, especially when it comes to shareholder profits
Next up: you have to buy the box first, which is empty. Then you can buy the phone. No box? No phone.
And then you’ll buy the phone but the screen is sold separately.
No, that would make it too easy to do third-party screen repairs. Apple wouldn’t allow that…
Why? You just have to prove you bought a phone and posted a photo/video on a right leaning social media and you get the right to have a screen on your phone.
WiFi connection? Monthly subscription.
Ooh I can’t wait until they pay wall my phone.
“Charging fee”
But what about … new users entering the Apple ecosystem?
What ecosystem do they think people are coming from where they didn’t already have a USB C cable or wireless charger?
First phone.
This is about Airpods. The phone still includes the cable.
Then just buy a cable.
Most phones shipped with USB a to USB c, that is not supported by many new devices. You need a USB c to USB C. If I pay over $800 dollars for something, I really shouldn’t be wondering if I can properly get it to charge.
Also, at what speed is it going to charge? If it charges slower with your old charger that you got from your last phone… Then you should supply the one that provides the speed I paid $800 dollars for.
This was why even Microsoft ships a new Xbox with a Controller, even though you can use your old controller with it.
Edit: That said, there has to be cut offs somewhere about features not being supplied, it’s not cut and dry
This is for the cheaper AirPods and the iPhone. Unlikely that they will not ship a cable with a phone. The article is just clickbait to make it seem like it’s for all the devices.
Many people don’t know usb-c cable is universal, and apple only advertises chargeing iphone with macbook and ipad charger.
I imagine most of these people use an iPhone, and they will certainly waste their money on an Apple cable.
Plus many of these tech-illiterate people are likely on a lighting iPhone with a barrel jack Windows, they won’t even know they need a new charging cable until they realize their old lighting cables don’t work.
And USB-C cables aren’t universal, I imagine a bunch of the cables you have can’t handle the higher voltage charging Macbooks have. But if your cable is capable of a higher standard, it’ll work fine with anything below it (e.g. I use my Macbook Pro charger to charge my Android phone, keyboard, and mouse all the time).
How about current IPhone users who have nothing but lightning cables and decide to upgrade to the new USB-C model?
Anyone buying a new iPhone still gets a USB C cable. This only applies to Airpods.
Oh no. Buy one then and be done with it. Oops.
Now it’s just a fuck you at this point
I dunno, I have so many USB c chargers and cables around that I bin them every time a device comes with another cable.
I don’t know, mine keep breaking every few years around the device. I think it’s because I sometimes grab the phone without realizing I was charging it
I honestly still hardly have any (spare) USB-C cables, and while I’d never pay for one I always do find the official Apple ones quite reliable.
Agreed, but Apple removes things from the box, and the price stays the same…
And being good for environment goes it the window when they are packaged, shipped separately instead now
Are we running out of things to get mad about?
No, it’s just that our energy is directed at the US election, and that’s not relevant to this community.
We’ll get back to our normal tech angst sometime after November.
I just don’t like how Apple spreads corporate bullshit like how they claim they do this to be more “green”
fear not you can buy an apple magic connector for just $60
runs at usb2 speed probably.
They are a huge tech company. They sound have a checkbox in the checkout flow that lets you add a free cable if you need one.
