Apple offers $10 trade-ins for third-party chargers

Starting on August 16, Apple will offer users of third-party iPhone, iPad, and iPod power adapters the chance to trade their old chargers in and pick up a genuine model at a discount.

The USB Power Adapter Takeback Program will allow you to bring your third-party adapter in to an Apple Store or Apple authorized service provider and get an Apple-branded adapter for $10 ("or the approximate equivalent in local currency"), just over half of the standard price of $19.

The program is being offered in response to "safety issues" related to "counterfeit and third-party adapters."

"Customer safety is a top priority at Apple," the company said in its announcement. "That's why all of our products—including USB power adapters for iPhone, iPad, and iPod—undergo rigorous testing for safety and reliability and are designed to meet government safety standards around the world."

This program has almost certainly been prompted by reports from last month, which alleged that an iPhone had electrocuted and killed a Chinese flight attendant. Later reports pointed to a third-party charger, not the phone itself, as the actual culprit.

Apple will run the program until October 18, 2013, and the company will give users one discounted charger for each iPhone, iPad, and iPod owned. Interested parties will need to bring their iDevices in along with the power adapters so that Apple and its resellers can verify the devices' serial numbers.

The old adapters will be "disposed of in an environmentally friendly way."

:story: CNN