by Apple probably could have gotten away with shrugging its shoulders at the recent news that a Chinese woman died from an electrocution allegedly caused by a faulty knockoff iPhone charger, but today 9to5Mac reported that the Cupertino company is taking a far more nobler stance. Later this month, it’ll allow customers to bring in their old USB power adapters and receive new, Apple-designed ones for a lower price via a “takeback program.”
To take advantage of the offer, simply bring in your old power adapter for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod after August 16 (either third-party or designed by Apple) to your local Apple Store or authorized retailer, and the staff will dispose of it for you “in an environmentally friendly way.” If you did so, you can then purchase a new one for just $10, although Apple’s announcement also states that this offer will only be available until October 18.
The new support page reads as follows: “Recent reports have suggested that some counterfeit and third party adapters may not be designed properly and could result in safety issues. While not all third party adapters have an issue, we are announcing a USB Power Adapter Takeback Program to enable customers to acquire properly designed adapters.
Customer safety is a top priority at Apple. That’s why all of our products — including USB power adapters for iPhone, iPad, and iPod — undergo rigorous testing for safety and reliability and are designed to meet government safety standards around the world.”
An impressive move, but one that’ll likely have some people buying cheap $5 chargers and turning them in to Apple for one of the better ones. Therein likely lies the reason for the limitation of the offer’s duration.
As MacRumors reports, this isn’t the first time Apple’s made a similar offer. If you’ve ever wondered why newer Apple-made power adapters have the small, green dot on them, it’s because they’re meant to differentiate them from older power adapters from 2008 that had metal prongs that were reported to get stuck in sockets. (Yikes.)
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