French iPhone Boxes Come Packed in an Outer Box With Separate EarPods

After the news that France would be the only territory to continue to include EarPods with the iPhone, it seems that Apple is not packing the earbuds within the ‌iPhone‌'s box (via iGeneration).

mg dc18f394 aa80 47dc a072 full

The French ‌iPhone‌ 12 and ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro does not have a different retail box to accommodate EarPods, meaning that all ‌iPhone‌ boxes are consistent worldwide. Since the new ‌iPhone‌ boxes are slimmer without a tray for EarPods or a power adapter below the ‌iPhone‌, in France the EarPods are in the bottom of a separate box that is large enough to also contain the standard ‌iPhone‌'s box. The additional box appears to be much larger than the new, slimmed-down ‌iPhone‌ boxes.

Apple is continuing to include EarPods with iPhones in France due to legal obligations. French law demands that manufacturers provide a hands-free accessory with smartphones due to concerns about the effect of electromagnetic waves on the brains.

In addition to the ‌iPhone‌ 12 and 12 Pro, the ‌iPhone‌ 11, ‌iPhone‌ XR, and ‌iPhone‌ SE no longer include EarPods outside of France.

Apple's website encourages customers to use their existing Apple power adapter and headphones or buy these accessories separately, and Apple has now lowered the price of its EarPods with a Lightning connector from $29 to $19.

Apple touted the environmental benefits of no longer including EarPods or a power adapter with iPhones, noting that the move reduces carbon emissions and avoids the mining and use of rare-earth elements. ‌‌iPhone‌ 12‌ models also ship in a thinner box as a result, with Apple claiming that it can fit 70 percent more ‌‌iPhone‌‌ boxes on a single pallet during shipping.

Tag: EarPods
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.5 With New Wallpaper, Screen Time Changes, Carrier Satellite Support for iPhone 13 and More

Monday May 12, 2025 10:06 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, the fifth updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 come a little over a month after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. The iOS 18.5 update has a...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

WSJ: Apple Weighing Price Hikes for iPhone 17 Lineup Without Blaming Tariffs

Monday May 12, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
Apple is considering raising prices for its upcoming iPhone 17 models set to release this fall, according to people familiar with the matter cited by The Wall Street Journal. The company reportedly aims to pair the potential price hikes with new features and design changes to justify the increased cost to consumers, rather than attributing them to U.S. tariffs on goods from China. The...
tvOS 18 Feature

Apple Releases tvOS 18.5

Monday May 12, 2025 10:01 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 18.5, the latest version of the tvOS operating system. tvOS 18.5 comes a little over a month after the launch of tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models. tvOS 18.5 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software. ‌Apple TV‌ owners who have...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.5

Monday May 12, 2025 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.5, the fifth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched last September. macOS Sequoia 15.5 comes a little over a month after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.4. Mac users can download the ‌‌‌macOS Sequoia 15.5‌‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Expected This Week With These New Features

Monday May 12, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple is expected to release iOS 18.5 to the general public this week. While the software update is relatively minor, it still includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.5. Pride Wallpaper Apple recently announced its 2025 Pride Collection, including a new Apple Watch band, watch face,...
Apple Logo Spotlight Blue

Report: Apple Preparing to Launch Mind-Control Support for iPhones

Tuesday May 13, 2025 6:18 am PDT by
Apple is planning to allow users to natively control iPhones, iPads, and other devices using brain signals later this year, The Wall Street Journal reports. The initiative involves a partnership with Synchron, a neurotechnology startup that produces an implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) device called the Stentrode. The Stentrode enables users with severe motor impairments, such as...

Top Rated Comments

JimmyBanks6 Avatar
60 months ago
Double the packaging for the environment.
Score: 58 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MayaTlab Avatar
60 months ago

Why exactly do the French need this?
It isn't like reading the article would give you that information, is it ?
Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
benh911f Avatar
60 months ago
So much for lowering that carbon footprint!
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lwii2boo Avatar
60 months ago
I'm French and I would prefer a 20W power adapter rather than EarPods.
Law can be weird sometimes.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Remy149 Avatar
60 months ago

I wish Apple would still include these in the box - I definitely prefer the EarPods most of the time as they don’t need to be recharged every night

The rumor is that Apple is going to discontinue the lightning port on next year’s iPhone - I hope they can continue to make their other lightning accessories like their smart battery case which works great!
I’ve never used the included headphones in the box. I wonder how many people just leave them in the box like I do
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mark-Technology Avatar
60 months ago

Voodoo reason? You mean just like smoking was good for you 50 years ago?
If you could see the full electromagnetic spectrum right now, you'd be amazed at all the EMF affecting your body/brain/ears right now.

Yet we're all alive and have been for millions of years.

All those quadrillion upon sextilions of neutrinos, dark matter particles, and emf waves you can't see are going THROUGH you right now.

It is voodoo and complete ********.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)