There’s a logical reason Apple stopped giving out free earphones and plugs with iPhones

It’s been years since Apple stopped giving out free wired earphones and plugs with iPhones, but it’s still a shock every time you open up a new phone and don’t get them.

The boxes just don’t feel right. They’re too thin and empty, literally containing the phone and a charging lead. That’s it. They even got rid of the sticker. And it’s especially inconvenient when moving from an older iPhone model to a newer one.

Any device before the iPhone 15 used USB cables, while newer ones use USB-C, so the old plugs don’t work. You then have to go and buy one for £19. On top of the £1000 you just spent on a new phone. The cheek of it!

So, why did Apple stop giving out free earphones and plugs? Well, it’s pretty valid. The tech giant made the decision so it could cut down on packaging, which would in turn reduce emissions.

By getting rid of the earphones and plug, they could reduce the size of an iPhone box by 70 per cent, meaning they could put more than double the number of devices into each shipping container.

Me sorprende que la gente no sepa porque dejaron de regalar productos https://t.co/lrnvOySbWQ

— Geloria (@gelorria) June 8, 2026

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This obviously means less containers are needed to ship out the product, reducing the amount of plane, boat and lorry journeys used and therefore lowering emissions.

As explained by Apple’s vice president for environmental policy and social initiatives, Lisa Jackson, at an Apple event in 2020, this “smaller, lighter iPhone box” means Apple can fit “up to 70 per cent more products on a shipping pallet”.

They also realised that after years of buying a new iPhone every two to three years on average, everyone already had a pair of wired headphones and a charging plug, so they were all going to waste. And most people were moving towards wireless AirPods.

It was all part of Apple’s aim to become 100 per cent carbon neutral by 2030. “Taken altogether, the changes we have made for iPhone 12 cut over 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually. It’s like removing 450,000 cars from the road per year,” Jackson said.

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Featured image credit: Twitter