Apple will no longer ship its iPhone models with EarPods in France, starting on January 24. Previously Apple was required to ship EarPods with its iPhones under the French radiation law which states smartphone manufacturers are liable to provide wire headphones to protect children under the age of 14 from potential electromagnetic radiation.
iPhones sold in France will no longer include EarPods in the retail box
Apple in 2020 decided to remove the power adaptor and wired EarPods from the iPhone 12 retail box. The tech giant said the decision was made to protect the environment by reducing e-waste by limiting the number of electronic accessories that end up in landfills. In addition, the slimmer packaging allows the company to reduce its overall carbon emission by shipping more iPhone units at a time.
However, to comply with France’s radiation law, Apple started using a box-in-box method to provide EarPods with its iPhones. Now, this is about to change. As per a new bill passed in the French assembly, smartphone manufacturers will no longer be required to include wired headphones in the box. Instead, they will need to ensure that they are selling compatible headphones as an optional accessory. As per a notice posted by French carrier Fnac, brought forth by Consomac:
DEAR CUSTOMERS,
We would like to inform you that our manufacturers are no longer required to supply headphones/hands-free kits with their smartphones in France. This new law, adopted in late 2021, aims to reduce the environmental footprint in France.The Xiaomi brand is concerned, for products purchased from the week of January 17, 2022. The same will be true for the Apple brand as of from the week of January 24, 2022
THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Apple’s website for France still shows EarPods as an item included in the box with the iPhone and a USB-C to Lightning cable, it is likely that the tech giant will update the website soon.
Apple’s decision to stop shipping its retail boxes with EarPods and the power adapter was controversial in other countries as well. In March, Apple was given a $2 million fine for not including the power brick in the box of iPhone 12 models in Brazil.
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