this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2026
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It's because they're required by law to offer it without a power supply. See Article 3a, section 10.
Apple's first-party power supply isn't "almost mandatory", and doesn't cost 99€. The 20W model shipped with the Macbook Neo in other markets costs 25€ on Apple's German store, and a generic 8€ power supply from Amazon will work. The power supply most people already have for their phone will usually also work.
The law is there solely to ensure the customer always has the option to buy the product without a charger, in order to fight waste. It doesn't restrict manufacturers from offering the product including charger as well.
For consumers it doesn't matter. Capitalism is capitalism. If the price of the laptop + charger is not attractive, consumers can buy a competing product. Arguably buying an Apple on a budget is a controversial choice anyway, as the ecosystem costs (software, cloud services, accessories) are generally higher compared to other OS, which have an open hardware architecture, less licensing costs and more competititon.
the problem is not that, but that they are still including the price of the charger in the deal
How much cheaper do you think it should be for not including a 20W power supply? I'd be surprised if Apple's cost for that part is more than 5€.
it should be cheaper with the full price of the charger
in my european country, apple's website says the 1 meter 60 watt usb-c charger cable costs 25 EUR, and the 30 watt usb c charger adapter costs 45 EUR. these are the most budget options I could find on apple's site
so, the devife should be 70 EUR cheaper, to be exact
Like any other manufacturer, Apple marks up the devices in their store. Don’t believe me? Go price out chargers on Dell or HP’s website and see how overpriced those are.
When's the last time you bought a laptop from any other manufacturer and had to specifically opt in to buying the charger
A year from now when Dell starts doing it on their home line of laptops.