That argument raised doubts in the Brazilian authorities, who in late 2021 launched an investigation to determine whether the decision of the technology giant affected the interests of consumers.

After conducting the inquiry, the Brazilian consumer agency Senacon reported that Apple's decision not to include chargers in the new iPhones "discriminates against consumers" by selling a product that is not complete.

In light of the findings, Brazil announced Tuesday that it is banned from selling the iPhone 12 and all subsequent models that do not include chargers, for violating consumer law.

And the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety fined the tech giant close to US$2.3 billion.

Apple announced that it will appeal the measure.

The fine and ban on the sale of iPhones without chargers was announced shortly before Apple unveiled its new iPhone 14, 14 Pro and Apple Watch Ultra models.

The Senacon agency argued that the sale of new iPhones without chargers was an example of Apple forcing consumers to buy a second product after purchasing a new iPhone.

He said a charger should be part of the product because it is required to operate the phone and it is an "incomplete product" without it.

The organization added that the move shifted responsibility to third-party suppliers, as well as consumers, because uncharged iPhones have not come down in price.

The company told Reuters in a statement that it would work with Brazilian authorities to "resolve their concerns," but added that it had previously won several court rulings in Brazil on the issue.

"We trust that our customers are aware of the various options for charging and connecting their devices," Apple said.

Alvarado also said: "The case of Argentina is extremely important because a product with these features will help people protect themselves from the adverse conditions facing their economy, such as inflation and currency devaluation. In this context, it is a payment product that allows Argentines, in a nutshell, to live in crypto, and Bitso to achieve its mission of making crypto useful."

The controversy began when Apple stopped including chargers and headphones in iPhone cases with the launch of the iPhone 12 in 2020, following a policy that the company said it sought to pursue green purposes.

"Sometimes, it's not what we do, but what we don't do that counts," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of environmental, policy and social initiatives, in a September 2020 speech.

He added that there were already more than 2 billion official Apple chargers in the world.

However, Brazilian agency Senacon argued that Apple's arguments for removing chargers from iPhone cases on sustainability grounds were "not enough".

According to the agency, there was no evidence that removing the chargers had environmental benefits.

On the other hand, he added that the company could have considered alternatives to reduce its environmental impact that don't impose a burden on consumers, such as adopting USB-C cables and chargers to reduce e-waste.

The European Union tentatively agreed to plans to enforce the manufacture and sale of a common USB-C charging cable for portable electronic devices earlier this year.

TechNews contacted Apple for comment, but at the time of publication had not received comment.