After removing the power brick from the Galaxy S21 box, Samsung has confirmed plans to phase out the chargers from all its handsets moving forward.
This means there’s a good chance the Galaxy Note 21 will rock up later this year minus the charging plug, along with most phones going forward.
In a Q&A on Samsung’s media site, the company said the phase out will be gradual, as it seeks to build its sustainability efforts. We’d imagine that, in emerging markets, where it’s less likely users will have assembled a vast array of spare chargers, Samsung will continue the practice.
“We discovered that more and more Galaxy users are reusing accessories they already have and making sustainable choices in their daily lives to promote better recycling habits. To support our Galaxy community in this journey, we are transitioning to removal of the charger plug and earphones in our latest line of Galaxy smartphones,” wrote the company’s head of customer experience Patrick Chomet.
Related: Samsung Galaxy S21 vs iPhone 12
“We believe that the gradual removal of charger plugs and earphones from our in-box device packaging can help address sustainable consumption issues and remove any pressure that consumers may feel towards continually receiving unnecessary charger accessories with new phones.”
Samsung has received both praise and criticism for the move, with some smartphone users complaining about the absence of accessories, calling it a cost-cutting measure for phones that haven’t got any cheaper.
However, most observers have welcomed the decision, which comes after Apple removed the accessories from the iPhone 12 packaging, which enabled the company to boost the number of handsets possible to ship on a single pallet.
Do you agree with Samsung’s decision to remove chargers and earphones form the Galaxy S21 box? Or do you think it’s sustainability under the guise of cost cutting? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
