> Now, it might be the case that you feel the price should be zero bucks with purchase of an iPhone.
It would be one thing if the form factor matched all the other chargers sold in the world. I have a pile of USB-C and micro USB cords, like most other people.
But if I bought an iPhone, I have no option to use a charger I already own. The extra purchase is absolutely required to make the device work. It's not the same charger as the other Apple devices I've owned. If your last phone wasn't also an iPhone, it's a required purchase.
It feels deceptive. If they were to "include" the charger, but offer a $19 discount if you didn't need it, that's fundamentally different than advertising a price for the device that is unusable to new customers without additional purchases.
> Apple disagrees. They don't run promotions of that sort, or promotions, in fact. The price is the price, it's core to the brand.
If it was core to the brand it wouldn't be news. I was an iPhone user back in the day and they all came with chargers and headphones. The decision to not include these things is not a branding one, but profit-driven and taking advantage of a captive customer base. Lots of iPhone customers are angry about these decisions, but the weight of changing ecosystems keeps them buying.
It would be one thing if the form factor matched all the other chargers sold in the world. I have a pile of USB-C and micro USB cords, like most other people.
But if I bought an iPhone, I have no option to use a charger I already own. The extra purchase is absolutely required to make the device work. It's not the same charger as the other Apple devices I've owned. If your last phone wasn't also an iPhone, it's a required purchase.
It feels deceptive. If they were to "include" the charger, but offer a $19 discount if you didn't need it, that's fundamentally different than advertising a price for the device that is unusable to new customers without additional purchases.
> Apple disagrees. They don't run promotions of that sort, or promotions, in fact. The price is the price, it's core to the brand.
If it was core to the brand it wouldn't be news. I was an iPhone user back in the day and they all came with chargers and headphones. The decision to not include these things is not a branding one, but profit-driven and taking advantage of a captive customer base. Lots of iPhone customers are angry about these decisions, but the weight of changing ecosystems keeps them buying.