Back in 2020, Apple made the controversial decision to no longer include chargers and adapters in the retail packaging for its devices. The main reason the company attributed was environmental waste, but it has become common knowledge that cost-cutting is the primary cause. Brazil has now called out Apple for this practice with its iPhones, getting its Ministry of Justice involved in this pursuit for consumer rights.

A lot of people were dismayed by this move when it was first announced. It didn’t help that the adapter costs over a thousand pesos, already on top of the price premium that Apple devices command. Smartphones have also increased in price due to Apple being the first to break the $1000 USD threshold with the iPhone X.

Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security has stated that the company’s decision places an unfair burden on consumers, who are already spending a pretty penny to begin with. This requires users to go out of their way to purchase a power brick. There are much more effective ways to mitigate environmental impact without losing out on convenience and impeding on buyers’ rights.

To this effect, Apple has been slapped with a hefty fine of R$ 12.275M (around $2.3M USD) and a stoppage of sales for iPhones without a power adapter included. That more or less includes all iPhone-related devices currently on sale, if we’re not mistaken. The iPads are spared from this whole debacle.

Apple has responded to the situation through a statement to Reuters: “We have already won several court rulings in Brazil on this matter and we are confident that our customers are aware of the various options for charging and connecting their devices.”

Despite these claims, Brazil has not stopped its legal action against Apple iPhones and the non-inclusion of chargers in the box. We’ll keep you posted on any developments, especially as the Apple event could make some game-changing announcements.