Users do not seem to be enthused by the idea of Android phones following in the footsteps of Apple and removing the in-box chargers

When it comes to smartphones, Apple is a trendsetter. And in 2020 it set a new trend that seems to be catching on, not so much to the pleasure of users. The latest flagship offering from Apple, the iPhone 12 lineup comes without a charging brick in the box, purportedly to reduce waste.

However, the move by Apple to remove the charging brick seems to have come at an opportune time, as have other such omissions in the past.  At the same time as the charging brick was removed from the box, the company introduced its MagSafe charger.

Now, the MagSafe charger may be a clever way of “wireless charging” but the additional cost of Rs 4,500 seems more like a money-making opportunity than a waste reduction one. However, as is the case with the earlier omissions that Apple has chosen in the past, the removal of the charging brick from the box too has started a trend.

The latest Samsung too now comes without a power brick in the box. The Samsung S21, the latest offering from the company which in the past has mocked Apple for removing the headphone jack and the power brick, has now followed suit. The S21 which is now available for pre-order on the company’s official website boasts a host of features and improvements over its last year iteration, with the exception of a charging brick, which will no longer be included in the box. What’s more, the Samsung flagship even loses the extendable storage option — the SD card slot, another major sore point for consumers.

As is the case with Apple’s power bricks, Samsung’s power bricks are not what you call cheap with the 45-watt fast charger brick costing around Rs 3,900.

And it’s not just Samsung which seems to be following in Apple’s footsteps. If reports are to be believed, Realme is also expected to launch its 2021 flagship without a power brick in the box. This is not something users look forward to, Haider Jawed, a long-time Samsung user, says, “I have chosen Samsung in the past because of the features they offer, like extendable storage and ease of availability of accessories like the headphone jack dongle. However, now it seems apart from the software there isn’t much that differentiates it from Apple, so when I upgrade I might as well move to Apple products”, a thought that seems to resonate among many users.

If one is to keep in mind the problems Samsung has faced in the past with its Exynos chipsets, rising prices of handsets and removal of features users looked forward to, it might not be wrong to say that with time we might have more and more users making the move to Apple products.

And even though Apple itself is moving towards a portless future which will necessitate the added-on cost of purchasing the MagSafe charger and other accessories for users, Android users seem to be in no hurry for their favoured brands to follow in Apple’s footsteps.