Apple Still Bundles EarPods With The iPhone 13 Over In France

Remember back in the day when smartphones would come with all kinds of accessories like charging bricks, cables, earphones, and maybe more? These days we’re starting to see more manufacturers ditch things like bundled earphones, but apparently not Apple where over in France, the iPhone 13 still ships with a pair of Lightning EarPods.

This is due to local laws in the country where it is required that all smartphones must come with a hands-free kit to protect children from potential electromagnetic radiation. This is why Apple is including the EarPods which has a built-in microphone that allows users to use the iPhone hands-free.

What’s interesting to note is that Apple does make concessions for different laws and regulations. We have to wonder if this could mean that some countries could ultimately force the company to include chargers with its smartphones.

Over in Brazil, Apple is facing some pushback on their decision to not include chargers with the iPhone 13. The country’s consumer protection agency has announced plans to investigate the company over its practices where earlier this year, they actually hit Apple with a $2 million fine over the same issue with 2020’s iPhone 12.

Apple has cited environmental reasons for ditching the charging brick, claiming that many of us already own USB chargers which will work with the iPhone, although the company’s decision to sell a separate fast-charging brick at $20 has also raised some eyebrows.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Audio, Cellphones, Gadgets
Tags: Earpods, Headphones, iPhone, iphone 13