Apple might not be planning a massive price hike this year like so many other brands, but that doesn’t mean the company is willing to cover the added costs that come with 5G and forfeit its high profit margins.
A thinner iPhone box with no earphones or charger
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo first revealed in May that Apple had plans to remove its wired EarPods from iPhone 12 boxes later this year. The move is reportedly part of an attempt to boost AirPods sales.
Kuo doubled down on his claims about EarPods last week and also spoke about the company’s desire to remove the charger from iPhone 12 boxes too. The latter came as a surprise to many, but now reliable tipster L0vetodream has corroborated everything.
As suspected, Apple is working on a thinner box design that will debut alongside the 5G iPhone 12 series. The new packaging was described as being ‘exquisite’ by L0vetodream, although exactly what that means in this case remains to be seen
The updated iPhone box design will eventually be expanded to the 2020 iPhone SE, according to the tipster. This device currently ships with EarPods and a 5W charger, but these could be axed by the end of the year.
Only the Lightning cable is sticking around
The possibility that Apple could apply this strategy to the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR should also be mentioned. That would, of course, explain why Kuo expects the current 5W and 18W chargers to be completely discontinued by the end of 2020.
Do note that the Tim Cook-led company is unlikely to lower the price of existing iPhone models to reflect the removal of accessories beyond the typical $100 discount that is applied after a year of sales.
Apple will probably market the change as being environmentally friendly
Later this year, Apple may choose to either ignore the iPhone box changes entirely or market them as being extremely environmentally friendly decisions designed to drastically reduce e-waste.
Most people already own several chargers and earphones, which means Apple could argue that shipping more of them with each new iPhone is completely unnecessary. Of course, there is also a financial benefit.
Aside from allowing it to cut down on both packaging and shipping costs, the controversial decision should boost the valuable accessories business that Apple runs. The lack of EarPods will increase demand for AirPods, as mentioned above, and the removal of the power brick is likely to assist sales of both wired and wireless chargers.
Apple is reportedly preparing a 20W wired fast charger that should prove popular but higher demand for wireless chargers is arguably the most lucrative outcome.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro concept render
The company's planning to go completely portless on at least one iPhone in 2021 and is readying a range of charging pads. These reportedly include an AirPower-like product and a smaller version capable of charging one device at a time.
The changes should be implemented at the iPhone 12 event
The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are expected to be announced in September or October ahead of a release shortly after. All of the aforementioned changes should be made official that same day.
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In regards to pricing, Apple is reportedly planning the following strategy:
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