New iPad Pro and iPad Air don't ship with chargers in the EU and UK

Mere hours ago, Apple unveiled the new iPad Air 11 and iPad Air 13, as well as the new iPad Pro 11 and iPad Pro 13. The new models are already up for order in a lot of countries, with shipping due to commence next week.

In some countries, however, there"s a bit of an unwelcome surprise if you do order. We"re talking about the EU and the UK, where if you buy one of these new tablets, you won"t be getting a charger in the box.

It may surprise you to hear, but this is the first time Apple"s done something like this for its tablets, even though iPhones have been shipping with no charger in the box for years now. That makes the environmental claims make even less sense when you think about it - why would a tablet charger be better (or at least, less bad) for the environment than a phone charger?

Well, if you live in the EU or UK, that question is no longer relevant. Now, if you buy a new Apple tablet, you"ll be in the same boat as those who buy a new iPhone - either reuse an existing USB-C charger you have somewhere, or buy a separate one, which will of course ship in its own packaging, thus creating more waste, not less.

But, Apple gets to save some money (and thus have some more profit), and you get to feel good about saving the environment (if you don"t think about it for more than two seconds). Win-win, right?