Apple is expanding its USB Power Adapter Takeback Program to countries beyond the United States and China, reports 9to5Mac. First introduced last month following the electrocution of a Chinese woman using a counterfeit iPhone charger, the recycling initiative is designed to allow iOS users to safely replace and dispose of questionable third-party power adapters.
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Under the terms of the program, Apple will accept and recycle any third-party charger, no questions asked. The company will also provide an authentic replacement charger for a fee of $10 in the United States, which is $9 cheaper than the standard $19 cost.
While the trade-in program was initially aimed at U.S. and Chinese Apple customers, it has now been expanded to cover Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the U.K. as well, with the website displaying appropriate pricing included for each country.
Apple is currently preparing its retail locations for the program’s launch, providing training materials for employees. Trade-ins will be accepted beginning on August 16, with users able to bring any USB power adapter and an iPhone, iPad, or iPod to an Apple Retail Store or participating Apple Authorized Service Provider for a replacement. The program is set to last for several months, ending on October 18, 2013.
Top Rated Comments
How is it that this is limited to certain countries only?
Is my knockoff charger not dangerous here in Denmark where I live?
Come on Apple, you need to make this program world wide!
So you have a dangerous charger, but you keep on using it because Apple doesn't give you a rebate on a safe one? :eek:
-Steve jobs
Because of that decision, Apple has created a market for extremely cheaply built cables sold by random Chinese sellers on Amazon and the like. Apple could put an end to the market, as well as make its longtime customers happy, by giving out more free lightning cables.
I personally walked into the Apple store about a month after I bought my iPhone 5 last year and demanded that they give me a free lightning cable. I told them I have six iPhones, and six iPhone chargers scattered all around my house. I am not willing to pay $30 for a new cable that cost Apple one dollar to make. I told the guy to walk into the back of the store where the repair Desk is, and get me a lightning cable. To his credit, he did exactly that. There is simply no reason why customers should be put through this amount of inconvenience for the sake of one stupid cable. I know several Apple fans who are specifically not upgrading their phone because they don't want to have to buy new cables. Is that a little ridiculous? Yes. But it's definitely the truth. Apple should know (And I'm sure they do know) just how much their decision to change the connector and not give out free cables has hurt them. That is one reason why they are illuminating the older model phones and replacing them with the 5C model.
Please excuse any typos, this was dictated with Siri and I did not carefully review my edits for non sequiturs and homonyms.
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Where's the profit in that though?
Because instead of selling a very very few of the adapters at a ridiculous price, creating a market for cheap dangerous Chinese chargers, they would sell potentially many times more chargers at a much more reasonable price.