11/02/2023

Apple took an unpopular decision this year by removing the wall charging brick from the iPhone 12 and new Apple Watches citing environmental reasons. Now Samsung, after mocking its rival, is set to follow the same course. Citing a report from the Korean site …

Apple took an unpopular decision this year by removing the wall charging brick from the iPhone 12 and new Apple Watches citing environmental reasons. Now Samsung, after mocking its rival, is set to follow the same course.
Citing a report from the Korean site ChosunBiz, Sammobile said that Samsung is considering removing both the wall charger and earphones from the upcoming Galaxy S21s box.
Apple kept the iPhone 12s price the same as the last years models and charged the official cable from USB-A to USB-C with the lightning port on the other end. So, in case you didnt own a charging brick with a USB-C port, you needed to buy one separately.
[Read: What audience intelligence data tells us about the 2020 US presidential election]
If Samsung goes ahead with this decision, it could make it a bit more tolerable by offsetting the price of the power adapter and headphones from the retail price of the phone.
Its not just Apple and Samsung that are going on an environmental drive. Xiaomi recently said that it aims to cut down on plastics used in packaging by 60%, starting in Europe.
We unboxed the #Mi10TLite Atlantic Blue variant You’ll get all the essentials, just with less plastic waste. Starting in Europe, we’ve committed to reducing plastic packaging by about 60%. pic.twitter.com/ai1yq3YR92
Xiaomi (@Xiaomi) October 20, 2020
Earlier this week, Google said that it aims to use recycled material in all of its hardware products by 2022; it aims to use 50% recycled or renewable material in its product by 2025. However, neither Xiaomi nor Google has said anything about removing the charging brick.
In the last couple of years, the majority of popular Android phones have switched to USB-C for charging. However, the port on the charging brick can be USB-C or USB-A, depending on the fast charging standard used by the company. So, if your next phone doesnt have a power brick, theres no guarantee you own a compatible one already, and that sucks.
For more gear, gadget, and hardware news and reviews, follow Plugged on
Twitter and
Flipboard.
Published October 28, 2020 — 05:54 UTC