It looks like Apple isn't having a great time in Brazil. Brazil's Ministry of Justice recently ordered a block on the sale of iPhones in the country due to the company not including a charger in the box anymore. It looks like the company's failure to comply with the regulations has irked the regulators again.
A report from Tecnoblog says that authorities in Brazil seized "hundreds of iPhones" across different retail stores in Brazil for not having a charger in the box. Brazil seems to have been enforcing the regulation to ensure that iPhones without chargers in the box aren't still being sold in Brazil.
"Operation Discharge": Brazil regulator seizes different versions of iPhone without included chargers
The enforcement seems to be from PROCON, Brazil's consumer protection agency. The report states that the agency seized hundreds of iPhones on sale in various shops located in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. The seized models ranged from iPhone 11 to even the latest iPhone 14, launched only a couple of months ago.
The operartion, called Operation Discharge, followed a decision from the Ministry of Justice to block Apple from selling iPhones in Brazil without chargers included. The Ministry has deemed this practice as a tie-in sale, and unfair to the customer as it requires users to buy a different product to get the iPhone to work.
Apple had, however, appealed this decision. Tecnoblog reports that this latest seizure happened a few days ago, and since then, Apple has successfully managed to procure an injunction, which will let it sell iPhones in Brazil without a charging brick until there has been a final decision on the matter.
In the meantime, it is getting increasingly difficult for Apple to keep going with its iPhone charging decisions with regulators stepping in. The company may be forced to bring USB-C to its next iPhones, and if more nations follow Brazil — include a charging brick with its best iPhone models again.
