Apple is removing the wall charger and earphones from every iPhone box

This could reduce packaging by 70%, reduce transport costs and carbon emissions

From now, all you can expect in an iPhone box is the device itself, some paperwork to go with it and nothing more.

Apple will not provide earpod headphones and a 5W wall charger with its new iPhones in an attempt to make its packaging more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

However, the company will include a USB-C to Lightning cable in the box, which can be plugged into an existing wall adapter or a computer for charging.

These accessories will also be cut from iPhone XR, 11 and SE boxes.

This move is expected to make a smaller, lighter and a more environmentally sustainable iPhone packaging going forward. Rumours and leaks suggested that the company would make such a move, in line to cut costs. But Apple claims it can bring down packaging by 70% and ship more phones at the same time, thereby reducing carbon emissions.

“These changes will cut over 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually, equivalent to removing nearly 450,000 cars from the road per year,” the company said in a press release.

Even when Apple removed a 3.5-mm headphone jack from its phones in 2016, the company did provide its wired EarPods with a lightning adapter dongle in the packaging and continued to do so till the iPhone 11 that was launched in 2019.

Alternatives for the EarPods are Apple’s own Airpods -- wireless earbuds that are increasingly popular and now an important part of the company’s product strategy. The Cupertino firm also launched Magsafe, a wireless charging mat for the iPhone, which will be sold separately, this is a potential alternative for the wired charging system it used to include with its phones.