5 Chinese students sue Apple for not providing this goes viral

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Five Chinese students sued Apple for not providing chargers in May this year, triggering a wide discussion among Chinese netizens about whether they could win the lawsuit against the tech giant.

In May this year, one of the students surnamed Fang and other team members filed an application to the Beijing Dongcheng District People's Court. They wanted Apple to include a charger with their mobile phone purchase, and took responsibility for breaking the service contract and paid 100 yuan ($15.67), and also covered the litigation costs.

Some netizens expressed their support for the university students as their mobile phone couldn't be used without a charger, which could be regarded as "a commodity defect." 

But others argued that the consumers agree to not having a charger when they buy this product.

The students are from Beijing University of Chemical Technology and Donghua University in Shanghai. Fang had bought an iPhone 12 Pro Max, but found that no charger came with it and she chose to safeguard her rights by using legal weapons. The trial lasted two hours, and was conducted online this September.

The legal representatives of Apple said the packaging outside the iPhone 12 Pro Max clarifies the specific commodity without a charger, so that charger is not included in the sales contract. Apple made the decision to not include a charger for environmental protection and packaging reduction purposes, according to the report.

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"As a TV remote control box, a charger is a necessary mobile phone accessory," Chang Yachun, a lawyer from Beijing Kangda Law Firm told, noting that, Apple's charger is its exclusive accessory; that is, the mobile phone can't work normally without it, which violates the service contract.