Apple may have to remanufacture iPhone 13 for Euro market, says GlobalData
USB-C proves to be a double-edged sword for Apple, with sentiments around European regulation down 15% in Q3 2021, says GlobalData
The EU’s new rules around USB-C chargers are expected to further impact Apple’s sentiments, according to GlobalData. The data and analytics company notes that Apple’s sentiments around Europe were already down by 15% in Q3 2021 compared to Q2 2021, and the announcement will do nothing to its recovery.
Rinaldo Pereira, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, comments:
“The company ditched charging bricks for some of its more recent iPhones for environmental reasons. The newer EU regulations add to Apple’s troubles around legislation despite its ESG focus. Sentiments around Europe and regulation are likely to be impacted further with difficulties around the iPhone 13 which might need to be redesigned and manufactured again amidst supply chain problems.”
Environmental issues are important to Apple, as seen in the mentions and discussions around environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in its filing documents. In 2020 and 2021, ESG-related themes, including ‘Environment’, ‘Climate Change’, ‘Energy’ and ‘Carbon Emissions’ were the top-mentioned themes in Apple’s filings, with the iPad and Mac being the top products discussed.
Anisha Bhatia, Senior Analyst at GlobalData, also adds that Apple spent a considerable chunk of time discussing sustainability during its product keynotes. In addition, there has been a 16% rise in mentions of ‘Europe’ in Apple’s filings from Q1-Q3 2021 over the same period in 2020.
Pereira concludes:
“Newer iPads and Macs already have the USB-C. Apple might have to remanufacture iPhone models specifically for the EU market as most premium android phones have the USB-C charging port.”
