Apple to Stop Including EarPods With Every iPhone Sold in France From Next Week

Apple will no longer include EarPods with every iPhone sold in France, starting on January 24, according to a notice posted by a French carrier (via iGeneration). Apple was previously required to include EarPods in the box with the ‌iPhone‌ due to a French law that required every smartphone sold in the country to come with a "handsfree kit," but the law has now been changed in favor of reducing the environmental footprint of digital devices.

iphone 13 earpods


Starting with the ‌iPhone‌ 12 in 2020, Apple stopped including EarPods and the power adapter from the ‌iPhone‌ box, claiming it was doing so in part to reduce its environmental footprint. With both accessories removed, the ‌iPhone‌ box was made drastically thinner. Apple also removed both items from older ‌iPhone‌ models it continued to sell.

Despite Apple's announcement, the company was required to continue shipping iPhones with EarPods in France. Apple's lawful obligation to include the EarPods was based on the precautionary principle, because the risks of exposing developing brains to electromagnetic waves are not clearly known, according to French law.

Now, that's all about to change. According to a new bill passed in the French assembly, smartphone manufacturers will no longer be forced to include headphones in the box. Instead, they just need to ensure that compatible headphones are available separately as an optional accessory. According to a notice posted by French carrier Fnac, iPhones will no longer ship with EarPods in the box starting on January 24. A machine translation of the poster reads:

DEAR CUSTOMERS,
We would like to inform you that our manufacturers are no longer required to supply headphones/hands-free kits with their smartphones in France. This new law, adopted in late 2021, aims to reduce the environmental footprint in France.

The Xiaomi brand is concerned, for products purchased from the week of January 17, 2022. The same will be true for the Apple brand as of from the week of January 24, 2022
THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Apple's regional website for France continues to show EarPods as an item included in the box with the ‌iPhone‌ alongside a USB-C to Lightning cable, although this will likely be updated soon. While it did remove the EarPods from the box, Apple reduced the headphones' price to $19, down from $29, when the ‌iPhone‌ 12 launched in September 2020.

Apple's decision to remove EarPods and the power adapter from the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ box was controversial in other countries, too. For example, Apple was fined $2 million in Brazil for not including the power adapter with iPhones.

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
mail categories macos

Apple's Redesigned Mail App is Expanding to the Mac — Here's When

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:02 am PST by
Apple plans to expand the iPhone's redesigned Mail app to the Mac starting with macOS 15.4, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The first macOS 15.4 beta should be made available in the coming weeks, and Apple has previously suggested that the iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4 series of software updates will be released to the public in April. The revamped Mail app debuted on all...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

Jim Lahey Avatar
39 months ago
Eventually they’ll just give us a thousand dollar cardboard box and claim that most of their customers already have an iPhone anyway ?
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Freeangel1 Avatar
39 months ago
one more thing gone from the box

and the price stays the same.

Another Tim Cook make more money idea. give em less and keep the price the same.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BreakYurAnkles Avatar
39 months ago
It would be nice if Apple would include an "OPT-IN" to request a lightning to 3.5mm adapter when every iPhone is purchased. Or provide the earbuds if requested when purchasing a new iPhone.

It doesn't need to be in retail packaging, just the adapter or earbuds themselves in a recyclable zip lock bag.

You don't have to provide them for everyone, just the people who ask for them when they purchase their new iPhone.

Oh and the USB-C charging brick too.

but Apple aint nice, Make'em pay thrice!
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
39 months ago
I suspect this probably isn’t that much of a notable concern to most consumers, because they already have their choice of what they prefer with wireless/wired earbuds as it is. Most consumers likely just throw these wired EarPods in a drawer anyways, so it’s a non-issue here.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rodedwards Avatar
39 months ago
Just another way to make money, under the pretence of saving the environment. So we now have to order a new cable, a new plug and a new pair of ear phones - three different boxes, packaged in another box and delivered by another van on another occasion. How does that save the environment?!
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mrochester Avatar
39 months ago

Just another way to make money, under the pretence of saving the environment. So we now have to order a new cable, a new plug and a new pair of ear phones - three different boxes, packaged in another box and delivered by another van on another occasion. How does that save the environment?!
Why wouldn’t you use your existing cable, plug and headphones?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)