Apple to stop including EarPods in the box of iPhones sold in France after a change in law
Apple will stop including free EarPods in the box of iPhones sold in France beginning next week following a change in French law that puts an end to the requirement for smartphones in the country to be supplied with a free “handsfree kit,” part of a previous health legislation to protect children under 14 that addressed concerns over having a mobile device held close to the brain.
When the iPhone 12 was announced in 2020, it was revealed that Apple would be removing the free white EarPods that came bundled in the box of all previous iPhone models as part of the company’s environmental initiative, with the exception of devices sold in France, where Apple would continue to offer the EarPods in an adapted white shipping box.
As reported by French blog iGeneration, local retail store chain Fnac is advising customers in-store that from January 24, Apple will no longer be bundling EarPods in the box of new iPhones. A translation of one of Fnac’s in-store notices reads: “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.”
Apple now sells EarPods at the discounted price of $19, down from $29 prior to the wired headphones being dropped from the boxes of iPhones in 2020.