Apple seeks to rid world of sketchy third-party chargers with $10 replacements

It’s never good when you read stories of dodgy phone chargers exploding, and as worrying as it is for us consumers, it’s just as much of a concern for smartphone manufacturers. Apple has decided to take a stand on the issue, and last week offered those in the U.S. the chance to pop into an Apple store from August 16, and they’d replace the iPhone, iPad, or iPod third party charger for an official one.

The deal is this: Take your nasty, potential death trap third party charger to a Genius, hand over $10, and you’ll get a shiny, official Apple USB charger in return. One which almost certainly won’t cause your face to burn off, thanks to Apple’s safety testing. If you don’t have an Apple store nearby, Apple authorized service providers offer the same thing. Apple usually charges $19 for its USB power adapters, so the offer provides a decent discount, and should certainly match the price you would pay for an unofficial charger.

When Apple initially announced the scheme, it was only applicable to those in the U.S., however today, it has updated the page to include several other countries. Now, those in the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and China can do the same thing. In the UK, it’ll cost £10, in Europe 10 Euros, $14 in Australia, $11 in Canada, 68 Yuan in China, and 1000 Yen in Japan. The scheme operates from August 16 to October 18 everywhere except China, where it began on August 9.

Stories of batteries exploding, chargers malfunctioning with shocking (sorry) consequences, and even the threat of malware being spread by using other chargers have been appearing regularly this year, and while we’re sure Apple is concerned for our safety, it’s also concerned about any impact they may have on sales. Regardless of its motivation, we’re pleased to see the introduction of its replacement scheme, and would urge anyone using a third party charger to take advantage of it, even if in reality the likelihood of an accident is quite low.

Andy's fascination with mobile tech began in the 90s, at a time when SMS messages were considered cutting edge, but it would be a decade before he would put finger-to-keyboard as a technology writer. In the interim he wrote about travel, formulated strong opinions about films and owned a series of audacious cars.

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