Consumers Sue Apple for Selling New Model iPhones Without Power Adapter

A lawsuit filed in East St. Louis, Illinois federal court has taken on Apple Inc. for allegedly failing to include a power adapter with its iPhone models 12 through 14, which the class action claims renders the products “incomplete” and “devoid of essential functionality.”

Apple’s fine print disclosure was insufficient to put consumers on notice of the requirement that they spend at least an extra $30 for a power adapter, the complaint says.

The suit takes issue with a practice it says began last year when Apple began to exclude power adapters from new models of certain iPhones, allegedly “citing environmental benefits from forgoing the mining of precious metals required for its production and a reduction in waste.”

However, the complaint claims Apple presumes too much by encouraging customers to use their old chargers as customers may not previously have had iPhones or other Apple devices, may not have their old charging device, or may have an incompatible or non-functional charger.

Further, it says Apple hid the ball from consumers by making its disclosure, that the phone neither comes with a power adapter nor headphones, on the back of iPhone boxes in small print. In turn, the plaintiff, an Illinois woman who purchased an iPhone sometime between the end of 2021 and mid 2022, for no less than $700, asserts she paid more for her phone than she would have had she known it did not come with the power adapter, as she would not have bought it or paid less.

The plaintiff seeks to represent an Illinois consumer class and a multi-state consumer class. She states claims under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act as well as the analogue laws of other states and for breach of contract and warranty, and negligent misrepresentation, among other claims.

Like another recent consumer complaint filed against Apple over the alleged skin tone bias of pulse oximeters included in the Apple Watch, the plaintiff and putative class are represented by Sheehan & Associates P.C.