Samsung to ‘gradually’ remove charger, earphones from future phones

Samsung plans to remove the in-box charging brick and earphones from more phones.

Samsung Galaxy S21 box (Samsung)

Samsung's latest Galaxy S21 series comes without an in-box charger and earphones. Samsung plans to “gradually” remove the charger and earphones from its future smartphones.

The Galaxy S21 box is noticeably smaller without the presence of the charging brick and a pair of wired earphones. It comes with a USB Type-C data and charging cable, SIM ejection tool and a quick start guide. Samsung said doing so will help “promote better recycling habits” among Samsung users. Apple started this first with the iPhone 12 series, and also removed the accessories for its older iPhones. Going forward, Samsung also plans to follow this route for its future smartphones.

“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 said in a statement.

It didn't specify though if this charger and earphones and removal will be applied to its entire Galaxy smartphone lineup. Samsung has Galaxy phones catering to the budget, mid-range, premium, and super premium segments that cost almost 2 lakhs. At present, it's only the Galaxy S21 series that doesn't offer these in-box accessories. This decision could play well with people who don't require an additional accessory and reduce e-waste.

Apple started removing these accessories from the older iPhones almost immediately after launching the iPhone 12 series. That's not the case yet with Samsung as it's still selling its older phones with the charger and earphones.