Apple could launch iPhone 12 without headphones or a charger, expert says

The move will cut production costs of new smartphone

Apple’s upcoming smartphone may not come with wired earbuds in the box – and could even launch without a power adapter.

TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is known for making reliable predictions about Apple’s products, claims that the decision to not include wired headphones is so Apple can further push their AirPods wireless headphones.

The lack of power adapter, meanwhile, is intended to be a cost-saving measure, as reported by Apple Insider. It is unclear whether it will still include a default Lightning cable.

This seems to be because the iPhone 12’s production costs will be greater due to 5G support, as reported by Macrumours, but will have a consumer-facing price similar to the iPhone 11 range.

Apple will instead release a 20W power adapter as an optional accessory to the iPhone, Kuo said. It will also begin phasing out the existing 5W and 18W power adapters later in the year, he claimed.

Kuo says that it is unlikely that Apple will replace the wired charger with a wireless charger in the box – a feature introduced with the iPhone 8 – but believes that the transition will benefit wireless charging companies in general.

It’s likely Apple will promote the environmental benefits of fewer accessories, Kuo also predicts, but that may not be received well by consumers.

As Apple blogger and iOS Developer Benjamin Mayo points out, the 18W adapter currently costs a sizeable chunk of the iPhone 11’s price.

“If Apple actually sold its accessories at cost, or close to — which is what $10 total for both — then I guess I could accept the environmental angle. Otherwise, it just feels like a guise of profiteering,” he tweeted.

Other predictions made by Kuo includes that the iPhone 12 could have no ports entirely, however some analysts have contradicted some of his views.

While Kuo has said that the new phones could have more square bodies, in line with the old iPhone 4, according to sources, others suggest that the iPhone 12 could be longer and thinner than the iPhone 11 range.