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Apple cuts EarPods and iPhone charger prices by $10 after it stops bundling them

Apple cuts EarPods and iPhone charger prices by $10 after it stops bundling them

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Apple won’t pack those in iPhone boxes anymore, but at least they’re a bit cheaper

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lightning earpods

After months of rumors, Apple announced yesterday that it would be removing wired EarPod headphones and wall chargers from iPhone boxes. The only accessory you get in the box is a USB-C to Lightning cable. Apple is positioning this as an environmentally-friendly move that will reduce carbon emissions and let the company ship more devices on a single pallet. But if you had come to rely on getting a new pair of headphones and a wall charger when you bought a new iPhone, those are now only available as separate purchases.

Thankfully, Apple has made those accessories a little less expensive than they used to be. A set of EarPods with a Lightning connector now costs $19, which is a $10 discount from their previous price. And Apple has also introduced a new $19 20-watt power adapter, discontinuing the older 18-watt charger that cost $29. If you opt to buy both of them, though, that still means you’re paying an extra $38 on top of what you’re already paying for your iPhone 12.

Apple’s decision to remove the headphones and wall charger isn’t totally unexpected, as the company also opted not to pack in a power adapter with this year’s Apple Watch lineup. And it’s not just the iPhone 12 lineup that won’t have the headphones and charger — Apple’s listings for the iPhone 11, iPhone XR, and iPhone SE say those phones only come with a USB-C to Lightning cable as well. So if you’re opting to pick up one of those older phones instead of the iPhone 12, keep in mind that you’ll need to have your own headphones or power adapter or be prepared to buy them separately.