Apple Stops Providing EarPods With iPhones Sold in France

Apple has confirmed it no longer provides customers with complimentary EarPods in the box with every iPhone sold in France, citing the environmental benefits of having a thinner ‌iPhone‌ box thanks to the lack of a charger and earphones.

iphone france lack of earpods
In an update on Apple's French website, the company no longer states that EarPods will be included in the box for any of its iPhones. Apple now lists only the ‌iPhone‌ itself and a USB-C to Lightning cable.

Earlier in the month, notices posted by French carriers indicated that starting January 24, Apple would no longer include EarPods in the box with iPhones sold in France. Under previous French law, Apple was lawfully obligated to include EarPods in the box based on the precautionary principle, because the risks of exposing developing brains to electromagnetic waves are not clearly known.

Newly passed law in the country no longer requires that smartphones makers such as Apple and Samsung include headphones in the box. Instead, they must ensure compatible headphones are available separately as an optional accessory.

Apple removed EarPods and the power adapter from all ‌iPhone‌ boxes starting with the ‌iPhone‌ 12 in 2020. Apple's decision has been controversial in several countries, with the tech giant facing a fine of $2 million in Brazil.

Tag: France

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
apple oct 2024 mac tease

Apple Expected to Announce These Two to Three Products 'This Week'

Sunday October 12, 2025 7:05 am PDT by
Apple plans to announce new products "this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple's "Mac Your Calendars" teaser last October In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the products set to be updated this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and "likely" the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec bump with Apple's next-generation M5 chip. Gurman...
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
joz macbook tease

Apple Teases Upcoming M5 MacBook Pro Launch: 'Something Powerful is Coming'

Tuesday October 14, 2025 11:59 am PDT by
Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak today teased the launch of an upcoming product, saying "something powerful is coming" on social media. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A short animation accompanying Joswiak's teaser reveals a brief glimpse of a MacBook Pro along with the words "coming soon." The shape of the MacBook Pro is a V, which is the Roman numeral...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
Vision Pro M5 Announcement

Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:14 am PDT by
Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and we have confirmed the Vision Pro still has 16GB of RAM. With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared...
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...
MacBook Pro M5 Screen

New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:59 am PDT by
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store. In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out....
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...

Top Rated Comments

Deliro Avatar
49 months ago
Cut to an overly produced clip of some environmental czar/VP standing near some solar panels on top of the empty Apple Offices saying how great this is.

While I get and don’t necessarily disagree. It does sting when items are removed with no reduction of price.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Michael Scrip Avatar
48 months ago
When Apple sells 200 million iPhones every year... that's 200 million pairs of EarPods that they would need to include in every box.

And I bet most of those EarPods never get used or even taken out of the box. That's what Apple is trying to prevent.

If they don't need to manufacture 200 million pairs of EarPods every year... those factories could possibly be used to make something else that people do want. Who knows.

As for removing items but keeping the price the same... we simply don't know Apple's costs for components.

Maybe the $1 or $2 reduction from removing the EarPods from the box is offset by a $1 or $2 increase in cost of some other component.

Who knows. I honestly don't care.

I've already spent more time typing this comment than I ever spent worrying about the included EarPods.

Now excuse me... I've got to organize my drawer of dozens of MicroUSB cables that came with every little gadget I've ever purchased...

?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
indychris Avatar
49 months ago
That's some serious thinking inside the box! Just make your carbon offset check payable directly to Tim Cook!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
49 months ago
An easy win for Apple. Adding easy/more ? to that 3-trillion dollar market cap. One more thing… Gone from the iPhone for the people in France.

Does anyone remember this? ??

https://www.macrumors.com/2008/07/08/iphone-3g-unboxing-photos/
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I7guy Avatar
48 months ago

Why does everyone want to see APPLE getting richer and richer while cheating customers out of accessories they now need to pay extra for?

Does everyone on the Macrumors web site have a stake in the company or are part owners of the compony??


Dam.
Why do people not want some effort to go toward saving the environment?

However, to answer your question, probably 98% of MR posters are also shareholders, imo. :apple:
:apple:
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unregistered 4U Avatar
48 months ago

Curious to know how much it cost Apple to have the VP stand up on the roof. Pretty sure they had to use some sort of a crane ??
I don’t know a modern building that doesn’t provide easy walkable access to the roof. (Though, many are secured by locks… nothing I know about, of course, just from what a friend told me). :)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)