'Stupidest decision': The feature Apple has left out of iPhone 12
Apple has unveiled the brand new iPhone 12 through a virtual presentation, but they have announced one change which consumers may not like.
The latest launch features four models - the iPhone 12, the iPhone 12 Mini, the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone Pro Max.
The cheapest of the new generation is the Mini and prices start from $1,199.
The iPhone 12 has flat sides with a flush display, similar to the company's iPhone 5 and a departure from rounded edges in recent years.
While the main selling point of the new iPhones is that it is equipped with technology for use with faster new 5G wireless networks, Apple has made a bold move which may annoy some consumers.
No charging adapter included with new iPhone
Apple will no longer include charging adapters with new phones, though a USB-C to Lightning Cable is still included.
“Please use your existing Apple power adapter and headphones or purchase these accessories separately,” the Apple website says under the iPhone 12 model.
Perhaps what is more controversial than getting rid of the adapter, is the reason behind why Apple has decided to do so.
Citing the company’s “environmental goals”, Apple says the smaller, lighter boxes that are more environmentally friendly to ship.
This did not sit well with people online.
“Apple be like: ‘We want to help the environment so we won’t include no charger nor earpods with the iPhone 12, instead we’ll sell it apart and waste more materials by doing more boxes’,” one person remarked on Twitter.
“Apple removed the charger and the headphones from the box because of the ‘environment’,” another person said on Twitter.
“That's the stupidest decision ever, not everyone has a charger just lying around and now those people will be forced to buy a new charger for their already expensive iPhone.”
Apple said on Tuesday (US time) its newest iPhones would be produced using recycled rare earth materials, as part of a stepped-up environmental initiative which also has geopolitical implications.
Announced as part of a series of sustainability actions, Apple said the move builds on prior initiatives including its pledge to become "100 percent carbon neutral" in all aspects of its business.
Apple's environment policy chief Lisa Jackson said during an online event announcing the new iPhone 12 handsets that "for the first time, we are using 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets including the camera, haptics and MagSafe (connectors)."
5G capability to future-proof iPhone
Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg was on-stage for the unveiling and touted the new iPhones to boast about the new model’s 5G capabilities.
US telco Verizon is Yahoo News Australia’s parent company.
5G is supposed to mean much faster speeds, making it quicker to download movies or games, for instance. But finding those speeds can be a challenge.
While telecom operators have been rolling out 5G networks, significant boosts in speed are still uncommon in much of the world.
When the iPhone 12 is on sale in Australia
So far, there are no popular new consumer applications that require 5G.
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro will go on sale in Australia on October 23, while the iPhone Mini and Pro Max will be available from November 13.
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