The iPhone 12 is rumored to not be shipping with packaged earbuds, but according to reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo it may also be lacking another standard piece of kit in its box: A charger.

In a new note to clients sent over the weekend, Kuo confirms as legitimate a recent photo of a 20-watt power charger for the new iPhone. However, he says it won’t come with the next-generation iPhone 12.

He thinks that Apple will discontinue its current 5W and 18 W chargers. This would make the new 20 W model.

According to Kuo, by removing in-box accessories Apple will be able to sell the iPhone 12 for about the same as the iPhone 11. That is despite the fact that the 5G networking components make it pricier to produce. As 9to5Mac points out, it will also likely make the iPhone 12 cheaper to ship due to the reduced weight. That would save on air freight.

Kuo thinks that the new iPads — including a new 10.8-inch iPad later in 2020 and an 8.5-inch iPad mini in the first half of 2021 — will continue to have the power adapter packaged with them.

When Kuo originally suggested that Apple would not package earbuds with the iPhone 12, many noted that this would help increase sales of the AirPods. It is likely that, by removing the charger from the iPhone 12 box will also cause a boost for standalone chargers. That’s going to be good for Apple’s bottom line — even if customers are unlikely to be too happy with it immediately.

Front Page Tech analyst Jon Prosser has previously suggested the pricing for the iPhone 12 base models will be as follows:

• 5.4-inch iPhone 12: $649

• 6.1-inch iPhone 12: $749

• 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro: $999

• 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max: $1,099

If true, this would be broadly in line with the iPhone 11 prices. That’s despite upgrades like OLED screens on every model, upgraded internals, a LiDAR Scanner on the top-end handsets, and more. Unless the price of components has come down radically in the last year, Apple’s got to offset the extra cost of those new features in some way. It seems that sacrificing in-box accessories may be the answer it came up with.

Source: Cult of Mac