Brazilian authorities seized “hundreds of iPhones” across retail stores in the country on November 11. The phones were confiscated because Apple was selling them without a bundled power adapter.
Apple has already been granted an injunction against the seizure by a Brazilian court. So, the company can continue selling iPhones until Brazil’s regulatory body takes a final decision.
A Brazilian court fined Apple a second time for not bundling chargers with the iPhones it sells in the country. The court imposed a fine of 100 million reals ($19 million).
The Brazilian association of borrowers, consumers and taxpayers filed the lawsuit in the Sao Paulo state court.
Brazil’s Justice Ministry has ordered Apple to stop selling iPhones without a power adapter in the box in the country. Additionally, it fined the company R$ 12.275 million (US$2.35 million).
The sales ban extends to all iPhones available in the country, including iPhone 12 and newer models.
Apple made the bold decision to stop packaging its new iPhones with a power adapter and EarPods this year. But while you might think Apple’s within its rights to control the accessories that its handsets come with, not everyone agrees.
In Brazil, the state of São Paulo has reportedly decreed that doing so is a violation of consumer rights. The announcement was made by Procon-SP, a public consumer protection agency in São Paulo.
The Brazilian Supreme Court will hear a case determining whether or not Apple can use the iPhone trademark in Brazil. The trademark was already owned by telecommunications firm IGB Eletronica.
The battle between the two companies has been going on for years. Even worse, in 2012 the Brazilian company created a lineup of Android smartphones called “iPhone.”
Apple just had its best September quarter of all-time and CEO Tim Cook couldn’t have sounded happier when he got on the phone with investors today. The company is heading into the holiday season with its best lineup ever and expects to set more records next quarter.
Investors did not seem to be too impressed with the results though. Apple’s stock price dropped from $222.22 to as low as $206 in after-hours training. Despite Wall Street’s worries about Apple, there was plenty of achievements for Tim Cook and Luca Maestri to boast about on today’s call.
There were the biggest revelations from today’s call:
Brazil has become the first South American country to get Apple Pay support.
Users can sign up for the service today by registering their Itaú Unibanco, MasterCard, or Visa credit and debit cards in the Wallet app.
Apple has come out with a colorful new ad for the iPhone X that shows off the device’s amazing selfie camera at one of the most craziest parties in the world: Carnaval in Brazil.
The new ad is part of Apple’s push to make more regional ads. Apple made a similar ad for Carnaval last year that focused on Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 Plus.
Watch the fun new ad:
Apple is in trouble with Brazilian authorities for throttling the performance of older iPhones.
A state agency dedicated to tackling consumer issues has demanded that Apple explains to customers how they can obtain cheap battery replacements. Company employees have reportedly refused to sign the notification.
Apple Pay could be about to launch in Brazil, based on sources familiar with the matter, and terms and conditions issued by one of the country’s major banks.
Users of iOS devices who attempt to add a Visa Platinum Personnalité card from Itaú Unibanco to their Apple Wallet receive a service agreement concerning the use of the card in a digital wallet. Previously, attempts to add this card resulted in a message saying that it was not supported — which is still the case for other bank cards in the country.
