London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

An iPhone 12 without a charger compared to ‘eating without chopsticks’

An iPhone 12 without a charger compared to ‘eating without chopsticks’

The iPhone 12 series phones will not include wired EarPods or a wall charger in the box, sparking online outrage on Chinese social media.

China woke up on Wednesday morning to its first look at Apple’s newest smartphones. Various hashtags related to the iPhone 12 were trending on social media, but one in particular drew outrage: “iPhone 12 does not include earphones and charger”.

The Californian tech giant announced that the iPhone 12 and existing older models will no longer ship with wired earphones and wall chargers, allowing for smaller packaging. This, according to Apple, will help the company deliver more units at once and reduce its carbon footprint.

Most existing iPhone owners already have these accessories from previous phone purchases, and the new phones will continue to ship with USB-C-to-Lightning cables. But many Chinese internet users still found it scandalous that Apple was breaking with tradition.

“I’m fine with not having earphones since I’m using Bluetooth earpods anyway, but removing the charger is just too much … It’s like asking me to eat without chopsticks,” one Weibo user said.

“A smartphone without a charger is an incomplete smartphone,” another wrote.

“We all use AirPods now and chargers have USB ports, so [the wired earphones and wall charger] aren’t that useful to me,” yet another person commented. “Still, even though I’m not using them, it doesn’t mean you should exclude them. What if I start using them again?”


The disbelief of Apple’s decision dovetailed with another Weibo hashtag: “Thirteen Spices”.

Thirteen Spices is a brand of traditional Chinese seasoning that includes ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon, among other ingredients. While it has no obvious correlation with the new iPhone, its Chinese name Shisanxiang can be roughly translated as “13 good”.

The hashtag went viral as Chinese internet users shared this popular gag: Apple CEO Tim Cook asks, “Is the iPhone 12 good?” Wang Shouyi, founder of Shisanxiang, replies: “No, 13 good.”

While many people appeared to be simply having fun with the pun, others used the hashtag to express their disapproval of the latest Apple handsets.

The iPhone 12 series – which includes the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max and a smaller iPhone 12 mini – is Apple’s first line of 5G phones. But in China, consumers are spoiled with a wide range of Android rivals, and many of those are already 5G compatible. So for some, the iPhone 12 failed to impress.

“Just looked at the specifications of the iPhone 12 and immediately lost any purchasing desire,” one Weibo user wrote. “At the same time, the look of Huawei’s Mate 40 series has already been revealed. So I’ll just wait for the Huawei Mate 40 or next year’s iPhone 13, because: Shisanxiang!”

Another commenter posted, “iPhone 12: To be honest, I’m really disappointed. I used to be an Apple user but after it died, I bought an Android as a temporary substitute … Turns out the 1,000 yuan Android substitute is surprisingly good. I’m not switching. I don’t care if Shisanxiang.”


The new iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini come in five aluminium finishes, including blue, green, black, white and red.


In China, the iPhone retains a strong edge in appeal among consumers in wealthier cities. But across the country, the rise of Huawei has chipped away some of Apple’s market share. In June, more than 26 per cent of China’s smartphone users owned a Huawei phone, compared with just above 21 per cent who owned an iPhone, according to data firm QuestMobile.

Still, Apple’s annual iPhone unveiling event, which typically takes place in the early morning hours in China, is highly anticipated in the country. In past years, the event has been broadcast live on domestic streaming sites like Bilibili, Tencent Video and Youku. But this year, the feed was nowhere to be found on these platforms. Instead, Apple fans in the country could only watch the virtual live event on Apple’s own website.

News of Apple’s latest products spread quickly across social media early on Wednesday.

Among busy discussions of new features and prices, the arrival of League of Legends: Wild Rift on iOS later this year also stirred up excitement. While Apple did not specify which iPhones will be compatible with the game, it said that the iPhone 12’s brand new A14 Bionic chip and 5G functionality would make the playing experience buttery smooth.

Wild Rift is the first official mobile adaptation of League of Legends, which has gameplay that looks very similar to the Chinese mobile blockbuster Honour of Kings – a game developed by Tencent Holdings that was influenced by the original League of Legends PC game. Weibo posts with the hashtag “League of Legends can be played on the iPhone 12” had more than 130 million views by Wednesday afternoon.

“Why does Apple always manage to target my weak points?” one Weibo user wrote.

The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro will ship worldwide on October 23, while the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max will ship on November 13.

Comments

Oh ya 5 year ago
Apple bosses are probably sitting there thinking if we can get the sheeple to go for this then next year we will not ship it with a battery, we will tell them to carry their laptop to plug into. They will tell you its for the environment and you brain dead idiots will accept that. My Huawei even came with a free case and yes a charger and headphones
Oh ya 5 year ago
Owwww new apple go spend way more money that its worth to have a new apple LOL and no earphones or charger, just shows how apple is playing its customers like fools they are. And 2nd do you have any idea on how wireless earphones work? The signal is sent to 1 earphone and then that earphone sends a signal to the other through your head. If you have any concern about electromagnetic health problems then ditch the wireless headphones and go back to the wired pnes apple is toooo cheap to give you. And yes check out Huawei phones. I have one and love it as do friends that have just got them. You could always put a apple decal on it for you shallow folks that need apple ro try and impress your friends

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×