If you are buying Apple’s new 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip in Europe, prepare for a surprise when you open the box. The laptop no longer includes a charger in several European countries, including the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands.
Instead of the usual 70W USB-C Power Adapter, buyers only get a USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable. Anyone without an existing charger will need to buy one separately for £59 in the U.K. or around €65 in the Eurozone. Meanwhile, customers in the U.S. and most other regions still get the power adapter bundled with their purchase.
This change continues Apple’s broader environmental strategy. The company first stopped including power bricks with iPhones in 2020 to reduce packaging waste and carbon emissions. Now, the same logic has reached the MacBook lineup. Apple says most customers already have compatible chargers, so adding another one would only create unnecessary waste.
However, this time, Apple’s hand may have been forced. The European Union’s new environmental regulations discourage bundling chargers and require all portable electronics to support USB-C charging by 2025. Apple’s updated packaging complies with those laws, aligning with Europe’s sustainability goals while trimming a few grams off the shipping box.
Still, this regional split raises eyebrows. Buyers in the U.S. get a complete experience, while those in Europe are left to pay extra for what was once standard. It reflects how Apple adapts its “green” policies depending on where you live, even though the product itself remains identical.
For most existing users, the omission will not matter. Those upgrading from a previous MacBook with MagSafe 3 can reuse their charger. But for new buyers, it means an extra purchase on top of a premium laptop. Apple has not adjusted the price to reflect the missing accessory, and that has not gone unnoticed.
Beyond the charger debate, the M5 MacBook Pro remains a powerful upgrade. The new chip delivers faster performance and greater efficiency for professional workloads. The design and display are unchanged, but Apple continues to refine the performance balance that makes its Pro lineup so effective.
The absence of a charger is a small shift, yet it highlights the growing tension between sustainability and consumer expectations. Apple’s environmental goals are ambitious, but the question remains whether they come at the user’s expense. The 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro still defines what a high-end laptop can do, but in Europe, it now comes with one less thing in the box and one more thing to think about.
