Just a few months ago, Apple launched its flagship iPhone 12 series with no charging adaptor and earphones in the box citing that the company wanted to reduce the amount of e-waste. Also Read - Samsung Galaxy S21 series cannot update seamlessly like OnePlus, Xiaomi phones
It seems that South-Korean electronics giant Samsung is taking a leaf out of Apple’s books as a recent custom certification for the Galaxy S21 has confirmed that the phone will not be coming with a charger and earphones as part of the retail box. Also Read - Today’s Tech News: Samsung Galaxy S21 launch, Xiaomi blacklisted, Vaio laptops launched
According to a Gsmarena report, the Samsung Galaxy S21, S21 Plus and the S21 Ultra have been certified for sale in Brazil and there is an explicit notice that reads that the phones will not be sold with any accessories or charging adaptor in the box. Also Read - Samsung to gradually remove charger plugs, earphones from future phones
The below screenshot shows the certification in Portuguese:
So like almost every other time, Apple has kicked off a trend for other mobile manufacturers to follow. This tactic allows the companies to save up some of that extra profit while at the same time masquerading under the notion that this reduces the amount of e-waste that a smartphone manufacturer is pushing out of its factory.
It is believed that Samsung will work on some kind of bundles or discounted combos for accessories as the customer will have no other option to buy them from Samsung separately. What will be interesting to see is whether Samsung deploys the same tactic for all of its range of smartphones which currently come bundled with a charger and headphones (with specific models) in the box.
The report also hints that the S21 will offer support for a 25W fast charging and most likely it will be the standard option being provided to customers. Rumours are that the Galaxy Buds Pro will also make a debut alongside the S21 family which is scheduled to be launched on 14 January.