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Samsung reportedly won’t include chargers with some phones starting next year

Samsung reportedly won’t include chargers with some phones starting next year

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It could reduce costs but also help the environment

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Photo by Brennan King / The Verge

Samsung may not include chargers in the boxes of some of its smartphones starting in 2021, according to a report from Korean news site ETNews. The company is taking them out because many people already have chargers and to help reduce costs, the report says.

While not including a charger in the box might seem like a big move, Samsung reportedly isn’t the only major phone maker considering it. Apple may do something similar by not including a charger with this year’s iPhone lineup, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Apple may also phase out the 5W and 18W chargers that currently come with iPhones (depending on which model you buy) and instead offer a new 20W fast charger that will be sold separately, said Kuo.

Removing chargers from phone boxes could be a major way for Samsung and Apple to lower the costs of selling their phones and make their phone packaging smaller, but it could also have a significant impact on the environment. Taking them out of some of the top-selling smartphones could help reduce the number of chargers that go unused and are thrown away because people already have a bunch more scattered around their house. My colleague Dieter Bohn laid out a convincing case for why Apple not including a charger with the next iPhone could be a good thing, and I suggest you give it a read.