Recently, I treated myself to a new iPhone, only to discover it did not come with the wall plug – only the cable: the USB-C to Lightning. I could not help but think this to be the equivalent of selling a car to someone, which they will obviously have to drive home, without supplying any fuel. Or perhaps more accurately, the petrol cap. First world problems aside, this incident conveniently coincides with the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S21, their flagship phone. They, also have opted not to include the wall plug – which followed suit Apple.[1] This serves as a convenient opportunity to discuss the issues at play.
As any commercial law student worth their salt will tell you, all products sold must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, under both the 1979 Sale of Good Act and later 2015 Consumer Rights Act. Perhaps an argument could be made that these phones are not ‘as described’, but I have no doubt that the small print will mention the lack of a wall plug. Alternatively, a contractual argument could be that misrepresentation has occurred. Regardless, it is unlikely to be litigated since the wall plug is only worth (at most) £20. Nevertheless, it would certainly be interesting to see the legal argument play out in court.
From a business standpoint, one might expect the reason for including no wall plug to be some frugal corporate plot to save on profits. However, the rationale for this is actually politically admirable – this being to reduce e-waste. On this, Paul Scott, Samsung UK Mobile’s Head of Product Management said “we do not want to be sending a consumer yet another charger when they have possibly got a charger from, say, 2018 or going all the way back to 2017. It’s a USB Type-C charger, so we’re not changing it.”[2] Undoubtedly, smartphone manufacturers will save on profits as a result of this, but of course, are reticent to make this point. Nevertheless, I am not sure if Apple and Samsung assume its customers simply possess an array of phone charging equipment about their homes since Scott went on to say “we do not want to be sending a consumer yet another charger when they’ve possibly got a charger from, say, 2018 or going all the way back to 2017”. The issue with this is that it assumes users always buy from the same company.
It is for this reason that, since 2009, the European Commission has been pushing for a common mobile phone charger. They argue that a generalised charger, with the same physical connectors, would prevent users from having to change their chargers when switching from one handset brand to another. The Commission cites the yearly amount of electronic waste which comes from old smartphone chargers as the main reason this. This being some 51,000 tons[3] – about five times the weight of the Eiffel tower.[4]
To realise this, the European Commission had phone manufacturers such as Apple, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola sign a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (‘MoU’),[5] which manifested as the micro-USB connector. Although the MoU technically expired in 2014, it was in effect extended through two subsequent ‘letters of intent’, signed by several the MoU’s signatories in 2013 and 2014.[6] In spite of this, no ‘universal phone charger’ has materialised – other than USB type-C, which admittedly many newer smartphones bar Apple’s have adopted. Hence, in 2020 the European Parliament passed a resolution to “take action to introduce the common charger”[7] by July 2020 at the latest. This resolution passed with the overwhelming majority of 582 votes to 40, with 37 abstentions. [8] Currently, no Directive or Regulation has manifested but it is undoubtedly so that under the force of law, the universal phone charger will arrive sooner than otherwise expected. Obviously, though, this future legislation will not apply in the United Kingdom due to the provenance of this change being the European Union; as ever, Brexit is the elephant in the room.
References
[1] https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/why-samsungs-galaxy-s21-doesnt-come-with-a-charger
[2] https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/why-samsungs-galaxy-s21-doesnt-come-with-a-charger
[3] https://hobi.com/eu-aims-for-common-mobile-phone-charger-to-cut-down-on-e-waste/eu-aims-for-common-mobile-phone-charger-to-cut-down-on-e-waste/
[4]American tons i.e. 46,266,422 kg; http://www.bluebulbprojects.com/measureofthings/results.php?amt=46266422&comp=weight&unit=kgms&searchTerm=46266422+kilogrt
[5] https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/electrical-engineering/red-directive/common-charger_en
[6] https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/electrical-engineering/red-directive/common-charger_en
[7] https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/summary.do?id=1606923&t=e&l=en
[8] https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/summary.do?id=1606923&t=e&l=en