There were rumors about it even though many Samsung fans hoped that it may not be true. Let's not forget, Samsung was quick to poke fun at Apple for not shipping a charger with its latest iPhones. However, when the company started deleting those tweets that made fun of Apple, we knew something was up.
In case you haven't heard, the entire Galaxy S21 series doesn't come with a charger or earphones in the box. That's right, your new Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra won't come with accessories that you have long found inside the box of a Samsung flagship.
Samsung is being sustainable at your expense
The way Apple sold its decision to ditch the charger to the public was that of being more environmentally conscious and sustainable. Samsung is taking a slightly different approach in trying to make fans swallow this bitter pill. Its statement on the matter is reproduced in full below:
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.
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.
We’ve also been implementing standardized USB-C type charging ports since 2017, so older chargers can still be compatible with our newest Galaxy models.
What might help make this change more palatable is the fact that the Galaxy S21 series is priced slightly lower than its predecessor. That's not entirely enough to justify the removal of these accessories, though. For example, the Galaxy S21 has a plastic back while the Galaxy S20 had glass. The entire 2020 lineup had curved display panels. Even the microSD card slot has been removed in the latest series.
Be that as it may, this is a decision that Samsung has made and one we will have to live with. It's not optional, either. While Samsung didn't ship earphones with the Galaxy Note 20 in the United States last year, it shipped a free pair to anyone who asked for it. No such courtesy is being extended this time around.
So if you plan to switch from a device that has a 3.5mm headphone jack, you'll need to buy USB Type-C earphones for the Galaxy S21. While you may have a USB Type-C charger if you've been using a relatively modern Android phone, you'll need to buy one separately if you switch from an iPhone. That's just the way it is now.
