Apple rakes in £5bn by dumping its plugs

APPLE has raked in an estimated £5 billion by no longer providing chargers and earphones with its new iPhones.

The tech giant said the move, announced two years ago, was intended to cut waste. It drew praise from environmentalists when it claimed it would reduce annual carbon emissions by two million tons, the equivalent of taking 500,000 cars off the road.

Critics say customers have been hit in the pocket because the withdrawal of the adapters and earphones was not accompanied by a reduction in price.

Since 2020, Apple has charged £19 for a new plug or earphones. Critics argue that if it had passed on the full savings, including an estimated 40 per cent reduction in shipping costs as smaller packaging allows 70 per cent more devices on each pallet, iPhone prices would be lower.

Experts believe that Apple, whose new iPhones cost up to £1,549, could be saving about £27 on each phone. The analysis takes into account that while the adapters and earphones sell for £19, they are far cheaper to produce.

Ben Wood, chief analyst at technology experts CCS Insight, said: ‘Apple is the phone industry market leader in helping the environment. But of course there is a cost saving to Apple in removing chargers and headphones when it sells iPhones.’

Since announcing the move, Apple is estimated to have sold 190 million iPhones worldwide.

Total gains from removing chargers and earphones, plus reduced shipping costs, could be as high as £5 billion.