A volt from the blue: Samsung reportedly ditches wall-wart from future phones
- Reference: 1594312212
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/07/09/samsung_charger/
- Source link:
The as-yet unconfirmed report comes from [1]Korean business publication ETNews , which cites the justification of redundancy — most people already have a wall charger, or use use an alternative, like a PC or a wireless pad — and cost.
Crucially, it follows similar bleatings from reliable Apple soothsayer Ming-Chi Kuo, who [2]reckoned Apple will ditch the bundled chargers with the launch of the iPhone 12, expected later this year. Presently, iPhones ship with 5W or 18W chargers, with the pricier models supporting the faster charging methods. Apple is reported to retire this and instead sell a 20W charger separately.
Kuo also noted that future iPhones also may ditch the bundled earbuds that have long been an expected inclusion.
Cost, inevitably, will prove a factor in any decision to remove a wall charger. It's one less component to build. Those savings look even more enticing when you consider the gargantuan scale at which Apple and Samsung operate. According to some estimates, the firms together account for nearly [3]90 per cent of carrier smartphone sales in the US .
It’s the tech equivalent of American Airlines saving $40,000 by [4]removing a single olive from each dinner service salad . Or Mondelez widening the gap between the peaks in a Toblerone bar. Pick your analogy.
Of course, there’s another advantage to unbundling, as it allows smartphone vendors to sell more accessories. Samsung could use this move to sell more of its charging tech — from traditional wall chargers, to more novel wireless offerings, like its recent UV-cleaning Qi-compatible box.
Apple, for what it’s worth, charges around £30 for a wall charger — which gives you a clue to the potential benefits of offering them separately. The firm’s 2019 financials show revenues of $24.5 billion in the “Wearables, Home, and Accessories” segment — although it’s pertinent to note that this includes sales of items like AirPods and the Apple Watch.
There’s another context to frame these moves: the European Commission is [5]currently looking into charging technology , with the aim to create a one-size-fits-all standard for all manufacturers. Tangentially, the investigation is also looking into whether manufacturers should decouple accessories like chargers and cables.
Any move from Samsung or Apple — or any other phone vendor, for that matter — could be reasonably interpreted as an attempt to pre-empt any moves from Brussels that would force the firms to adjust their packaging. ®
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[1] https://www.etnews.com/news/article.html?id=20200708000292
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/29/apple_reportedly_plans_to_remove/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/01/03/samsung_5g_phones_shipped/
[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/06/business/and-to-penny-pinching-wizardry.html
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/01/24/apple_up_yours_delors_we_wont_use_your_stinking_common_charging_standard/
[6] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: The Ryanair model
Possibly, though Ryanair has repeatedly lost in court of synthetic charges. But for consumer electronics that need charging it's only justifiable if appropriate standardised charging devices are available, ie. not manufacturer-specific ones.
But maybe customers will get a choice (with a synthetic discount if you don't want one, which justifies the price of the standalone one), which is probably the best approach.
Re: The Ryanair model
Not really. We generally only have 1 spare tire *in* the car that is being used and sold/traded in. So providing one in with the price is a must for good customer service.
But phone chargers? Most people now have loads, and if not adding one to the cart and postal system/picking it up in store is a nobrain, and much much less hassle than Ryan Air or your local car dealer taking off the door handles as "optional extras".
I mean, you can buy decent multi-port high-wattage USB charger warts for fairly cheap, so on the one hand, just include it you cheapskate mobile phone manufacturer, on the other, you probably already have 10 of the blighters and this will save $3 on the $1200 retail price, and this will let us pack more phones into a shipping container, which is good for the environment!
It's more than a bit annoying if you purchase a top of the range Samsung phone and are out like $1200 to $1400 at a minimum, and you still have to put up with that stupid Bixby trying to shove ads in your face if you swipe the wrong way.
But now they just say let's forget the lube all together and not even bother putting in the $10 charger & cable so now you have to go buy it elsewhere or pay like $50 for our "original" one.
If they are not a bit more careful what they are actually going to do is destroy their entire high end range ability as the customers will eventually say why bother paying a premium and get treated this poorly?
The point is, pretty much everyone who will be buying one of these will already have a compatible charger. Are you saying they have to bundle an unwanted charger to maintain their "high end" image?
Any chance of a half decent, (or even crapy) protective flip cover for my £1200 phone instead?
Isn't the EU argument....
....that everyone has so many cords and chargers lying around that it's creating excess electronic waste?
The Ryanair model
Salesperson: Certainly, here's a cheap phone. You won't find one cheaper - guaranteed.
Oh, the battery is an extra £60 plus fitting charge
A screen, you say. By all means .... kerching £100 more please.
Great. Now, would the customer like some software to go with their new phone .....