Apple announces trade-in plan for power adapters

Starting from August 9, Chinese customers can exchange their third-party charger for an authentic Apple manufactured one for 68 yuan (11 US dollars), over 50 percent off the original price, according to a statement by Apple released on Tuesday. Apple announced the trade-in plan after a woman in northwest China was killed by an electric shock when making a phone call while charging her iPhone 5 with a third-party charger last month. "Recent reports have suggested that some counterfeit and third-party adaptors may not be properly designed and could result in safety issues," the statement said. According to the statement, people who want to exchange their chargers will have to turn in at least one USB adaptor, fake or not, as well as their iPhone, iPad or iPod to an Apple retail store for serial number validation. An iPhone adaptor costs 145 yuan in a Chinese store, whilst an unauthorized charger may cost less than 20 yuan on Taobao, the country's largest auction website. The discount plan will kick off globally on August 16 and run for two months.