• Apple was banned from shipping iPhones without chargers by Brazil last month.
• The Brazilian Consumers’ Association filed a lawsuit against Apple for doing so, to the tune of $19 million.
• It remains to be seen whether Apple will comply with orders to bundle chargers moving forward.

We have made our feelings known regarding Apple and its decision to ship its iPhones without a charger, which began with the iPhone 12 a couple of years ago. With the burden now falling on consumers to purchase a compatible charger separately, it looks like more watchdogs are calling the company out for this practice.

This as the Sao Paolo state court has fined the tech giant $19 million for failing to comply with others to stop shipping devices without chargers. Said order was issued by Ministry of Justice and Public Safety in Brazil last month, banning such sales.

According to Reuters, the aforementioned lawsuit was filed by the Brazilian Consumers’ Association, which is made up of borrowers, consumers and taxpayers, who argue that the company “commits abusive practices by selling its flagship product without a charger.”

While calling it abusive is a bit strong in our opinion, we have to side with the group as it can certainly be deemed anti-consumer.

“It is evident that, under the justification of a ‘green initiative,’ the defendant imposes on the consumer a required purchase of charger adaptors that were previously supplied along with the product,” noted the Sao Paulo court regarding its decision.

At the time of writing, Apple is yet to provide a statement on the fine, but Reuters does state that the company plans to contest the lawsuit.

Should it prove unsuccessful, it will be interesting to see whether Apple acquiesces to the orders or simply chooses to not sell the iPhone in Brazil moving forward. This as bundling chargers will likely raise questions from regulators in other parts of the globe who deem the behaviour as being anti-consumer too.