You may have seen recent reports of people either being killed or shocked into a coma by an electrical charge emanating from an iPhone charger. It’s a PR disaster for Apple even if the chargers used were cheap third-party knock-offs. That’s why the company is now offering cheap official chargers for everybody using fake knock-offs.
Apple announced a new program today called the “USB Power Adapter Takeback Program.” In short, it allows you to trade in any third-party USB charger you own for the iPhone, iPad or iPod, and get an official Apple USB charger for only $10.
So, when can you start to get cheap official chargers? Apple says the program will start on August 16 and last all the way through October 18. To qualify, you must bring a third-party charger and your iOS device to any Apple Retail Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider. From there, they will check your iOS device’s serial number to make sure you’re a legitimate customer, and then sell you an official power adapter on the cheap.
The best part about this program is that Apple is accepting all third-party power adapters, even the non-faulty ones. The company says that it would too much of a hassle to test every power adapter they get in so they’ll just sell you a cheap official Apple charger upon trading in any third-party adapter.
Apple may be doing this to save face, but it’s an excellent opportunity for everybody to get cheap official hardware. The official hardware only costs $19 normally, but you’re still saving $9. That’s worth a trip to a local Apple store to toss away that cheap power adapter you bought from a shady guy in an alley.
[h/t: 9to5Mac]