French iPhone 12 Shipments Use Outer Box for EarPods

French iPhone 12 Shipments place EarPods in outer box

We learned shortly after the iPhone 12 announcement that France would be the sole country where you’d still get EarPods with your new handset. Now that people have begun receiving their new phones, we see that Apple isn’t including the accessory in the iPhone box. Instead, French iPhone 12 shipments include the EarPods in an outer box.

French Law and Hands-Free Accessories

Apple has opted to keep the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro retail boxes consistent worldwide. The new packaging is slimmer, without a tray for EarPods or a power adapter.

Under French law, Apple (and other cellular phone manufacturers) have to include a hands-free accessory with smartphones. Concerns about how magnetic waves might affect the brain drove that legislation. So, Apple has to include EarPods with French iPhone 12 devices.

How Apple is Packaging French iPhone 12 Shipments

To accommodate the EarPods, Apple places them in the bottom of a separate box that’s large enough to hold the iPhone package, too. This additional box appears much larger than the new iPhone packaging.

When Cupertino announced it was no longer including EarPods (or a Powerades adapter) with iPhone devices, it claimed environmental benefits. Apple says the move reduces carbon emissions. It’s also said to reduce the need for mining and the use of rare-earth elements.

On top of that, Apple claims it can fit 70 percent more iPhone boxes on a single pallet during shipping. The additional packaging for the French iPhone 12 will take more pallet space, but Apple is still saving on shipping space needs worldwide.

French iPhone 12 Shipments place EarPods come in outer box
A side-by-side comparison of iPhone 12 boxes for French customers and the global packaging (Screenshot courtesy of TheiCollection’s video review)

Apple Encourage the Reuse of Accessories

On its website, Apple encourages customers to use their existing Apple power adapter and headphones. They can also purchase those accessories separately. In fact, Cupertino has lowered the price of EarPods with a Lightning connector from $29 to $19. Power adapters remain priced the same as ever.

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