First it was phones. Now it's laptops. One way tech companies seem to be keeping costs down of late is by dropping chargers from their products, forcing consumers to purchase them separately. It's a common tactic for the best phones, but now Apple is doing it with the latest M5 MacBook Pro in Europe.
One the surface, this seems like a shocking decision, as buyers are used to the best laptops coming with the needed charger right out of the box. Additionally, laptop chargers typically cost more than their phone counterparts, making the purchase significantly larger than that of the laptop itself.
Is it cost cutting or enviromental?
It's important to note that this only applies to European buyers. All other countries where Apple offers the new top-of-the-line laptop will receive a 70W USB-C Power Adapter with their purchase (this includes the U.S.).
For those in Europe (including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and other countries), the Apple store listing doesn't include the 70W charger.
It may not be purely a cost-cutting measure in this case, though, as the EU has implemented new regulations related to electronic waste. Apple has long said its reason for removing chargers from the box is environmentally focused.
If you already have USB-C cables with laptop-capable power bricks, this could be a non-story for you. But if you're new the Apple laptops and don't have USB-C chargers hanging around, you're looking at £59 in the U.K. for the 70W USB-C Power Adapter. Sure, you're already spending a minimum of £1599 for the 14-inch version, so what's an extra £59, right? Those extra purchases add up, especially when it's something you've always received with your initial purchase.
Hopefully, this is just related to the new rules and not a blanket policy Apple plans to enact on its laptops. Time will tell, but if the company can make an extra $59 with each laptop sold in the U.S., it might be a hard opportunity for it to pass up.
