‘Incomplete’: Apple Fails to Warn iPhone Buyers That Chargers Are Sold Separately, Class Action Claims [DISMISSED]

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Apple has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit that alleges the company has failed to adequately inform consumers that the new 12- through 14-series iPhones do not come with chargers.

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According to the 12-page lawsuit, as of 2021, the tech giant no longer supplies power adapters with purchased iPhones, catching many buyers by surprise who do not see the small print on the back of the box: “power adapter and headphones sold separately.”

The suit argues that Apple’s representations of its products are false and misleading because consumers have a “basic expectation” that iPhone packages contain all essential components for use, including a charger. Instead, consumers have been sold “an incomplete and/or non-functional product,” the case says.

“By selling the Product without a charger, it is not adequate for its intended use, which was to function as a phone and mini-computer, because it requires power or energy to operate,” the complaint reads. “Where the utility of a good depends upon another good which is not provided by the manufacturer, the good is considered defective or at a minimum, diminished in value.”

Per the complaint, Apple stopped including power adapters—the component of a charger that connects the cable to an outlet—with iPhones in an effort to slow environmental harm caused by producing the adapters and to reduce waste by urging consumers to reuse old chargers.

However, the case contends that many buyers are new to Apple products and have no previous chargers. Other users may have lost or broken their original adapters or may have older chargers now incompatible with newer iPhone models, the filing says.

As one of the most ubiquitous brands in the world, Apple “knew a significant percentage of its customers would be negatively affected by removing the charging capability from the iPhone,” the lawsuit alleges.

The case claims that by eliminating the charger from an iPhone box, Apple essentially requires consumers to spend more money to purchase one in-store or online, which can cost $30 or more.

The complaint charges that Apple could have taken other steps to promote sustainability, such as by adopting industry standard USB-C chargers or offering free adapters to buyers upon request rather than forcing them to pay for additional products.

According to the suit, the plaintiff, an Illinois resident, last bought an iPhone over two years ago and has a charger no longer compatible with the new iPhone model she purchased recently. She did not see the small text on the back of the box and thus did not realize an adapter was absent, the complaint explains.

The filing says that, like many consumers, the plaintiff “expected that if she was buying something which required the purchase of another item to render the purchase functional, this information would be prominently disclosed to her.”

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in Illinois, Arkansas, South Dakota, Wyoming, North Carolina, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Mississippi, Virginia and Oklahoma who purchased an iPhone that did not include a charger during the statute of limitations.

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