If you are thinking of getting the new MacBook Pro with M5 chip that Apple has just presented, it is worth taking a closer look at what exactly comes in the box. Depending on the country you live in, the laptop may arrive without a power adapter, which would force you to make an additional outlay, and wait a little longer, before being able to use it, unless you already have a compatible one.
Goodbye to the power adapter. Apple has chosen not to include the charger in the box of the new M5 MacBook Pro in some markets. At the moment it is not clear if the measure applies to the entire European Union (we have contacted the company to confirm this).
Use the one you have or go to the checkout. When you add the device to the cart, the store suggests various accessories, such as AppleCare+ or additional cables. Among them is a 70 W USB-C power adapter – the same one that Apple includes in this model in some countries – with a price of 65 euros. A 96 W version is also available for 85 euros.
Before completing your purchase, Apple suggests several additional accessories, including a charger
Where it is and where it is not included. We have verified that when purchasing the new MacBook Pro M5 from the Apple Spain or Apple Italia online store, the power adapter does not appear among the included items. Only the charging cable and the equipment appear in the box. In the United States, however, the story changes: the charger is part of the package.
Why Apple does this. Although Apple has not offered a specific explanation about the M5 MacBook Pro, the measure seems to follow the environmental line that the company has defended for years. In 2020, when he removed the charger from the iPhonejustified the decision pointing out that “Apple is also removing the power adapter and EarPods from iPhone packaging, further reducing carbon emissions.” At that time, the company also highlighted that the new packaging design allowed it to “ship 70% more boxes per pallet” and reduce more than two million metric tons of CO₂ per year.
Comparison in the Apple online store: the MacBook Pro with charger (above) and without charger (below)
What about the rest of Macs. The change does not affect, at least for now, the rest of the models. If today, October 15, you decide to buy a 14-inch MacBook Pro From the Apple Store in Spain or Italy, you will see that the power adapter is included along with the USB-C to MagSafe cable. The same goes for previously released laptops, such as the MacBook Air M4. So, for the moment, the absence of the charger seems to be limited to the new configurations with the M5 chip.
Not everything goes through the Apple charger. It is not essential to buy the official Apple charger. There are third-party options with the same USB-C Power Delivery charging standard, which may be more affordable and offer equivalent results. In any case, it is worth checking that the adapter is fully compatible with the MacBook Pro M5 and has the necessary safety certifications. Using a low-quality charger may affect performance or shorten battery life.
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple since 2011
Second hand: sell with or without charger. Until recently, when you sold a used device, it was common to deliver it with its charger. It was almost an automatic gesture: you bought a new one, which already came with an adapter, and you gave up the previous one along with the equipment. That custom began to change when Apple stopped including chargers in iPhones. Now the question is: what will we do when we have to sell our laptop? Will we stop including the charger?
The Tim Cook era. As we already mentioned, this is not the first time that Apple has decided to remove a traditional component from its products. Since the arrival of Tim Cook at the head of the company, we have seen the headphones, the iPhone charger disappear and, later, that of the Apple Watch. All these steps were justified under the same premise: sustainability and reduction of environmental impact.
Succession: what is known and what is not. Rumors about Tim Cook’s succession have intensified in recent years, although the CEO himself has not made any statements on the matter. Sources like Bloomberg point to John Ternus as the natural candidate to take his place when the time comes. Apple, faithful to its secrecy, has not commented on any of these reports. The only certainty is that Cook is still in charge, and his legacy—including these types of decisions—continues to set the course of the company.
Images | Apple | Screenshot
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