Yes, OnePlus 9 will come with a charger. Alas, that’s a thing we worry about now!

Earlier today, OnePlus announced that the OnePlus 9 series smartphones will launch at an event on March 23. The company even gave us a glimpse of one of the upcoming phones, and has promised some camera performance upgrades, thanks to its partnership with Hasselblad. We already know a lot about the specs and even the design of the upcoming phones courtesy of leaks, but it was unclear if the OnePlus 9 series phones will come with a charger in the box. Well, thankfully, you will get a charger in the retail package

Actually, buyers might find a 65W charger in the retail box.

Replying to a user’s query on the official OnePlus forum, co-founder and CEO Pete Lau revealed that the upcoming phones will indeed ship with a charger in the box. As per leaks, the OnePlus 9 Pro will offer support for 65W fast charging, and we might actually get a 65W power brick in the retail package. OnePlus has traditionally offered a charging brick of the same capacity as the peak wattage supported by the phone itself. For example, the OnePlus 8T’s (VIEW AT AMAZON) retail package included a 65W charging adapter.  

OnePlus 9 Charger CEO Pete Lau

It began with Apple, Samsung followed, but only Xiaomi nailed the charger drama!

While this might come as good news for potential buyers, the fact that it is something that users have to worry about is disheartening, to put it mildly. Apple set the ball rolling by ditching the charger from the iPhone 12 series’ (VIEW AT BEST BUY) retail package, claiming that it would help reduce e-waste. Back then, it was argued that many buyers already have a charger lying back at home.

We have to worry whether a $1,000 phone will come with a charger now!

Samsung, after making fun of Apple for the choice it made, actually followed in the footsteps and removed the charger from the Galaxy S21’s (VIEW AT SAMSUNG) retail package. While the concerns of both companies are legit, the implementation is not the best. Xiaomi, on the other hand, took a much better approach here. With the launch of Mi 11 flagship, the company announced that it would sell the phone in two bundles – one with an included charger, and the one without it – at the same cost.

Instead of making a controversial move, Xiaomi left it in the hands of customers to make the responsible choice. If they have a charger at home, they can opt for the bundle without one, helping reduce the e-waste footprint in the process. As for buyers who don’t necessarily have a spare charger lying on their desk, they can get one with their shiny new phone without having to shell out extra for it.

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Samsung will remove the bundled charger for more smartphones in the future

So, the deed has been done. Samsung has decided to ditch the bundled charging adapter from the Galaxy S21 series’ retail package, following in the footsteps of Apple. The reason? Well, because accessories like a charger contribute towards the generation of more electronic waste. However, the Galaxy S21 won’t be the only device to receive the no-charger-in-the-box treatment, as Samsung will extend this strategy to more devices in the foreseeable future. 

Samsung is catalyzing an industry-wide trend started by Apple

Answering a question regarding the omission of charger and earphones from the retail package, Samsung’s Patrick Chomet mentioned that this strategy is a mix of consumer behavior as well as the company’s commitment towards a sustainable future. “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,” Chomet said in a Q&A shared by Samsung. 

Adding more to the conversation, he mentioned that there are many users out there who now prefer reusing accessories from an older device and are making a responsible choice. “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,” said Chomet, who currently serves as Corporate Executive Vice President and Head of Customer Experience Office at Samsung Electronics, as per his LinkedIn profile

Samsung is lowering the price of its 25W charger, but you still have to pay extra cash

However, the decision leaves out buyers who don’t necessarily have a charger lying around at home. Recognizing the aforesaid situation, Samsung has lowered the price of its 25W charger from $35 to $19. But you still have to pay extra for a phone that costs north of $800. Xiaomi has also decided to ditch the charger from its latest flagship – the Mi 11. However, the company is allowing buyers to choose between two bundles with or without a charger at no extra cost. And this, in my opinion, is a much better implementation than what Samsung and Apple are doing.

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Barnes & Noble issues voluntary recall of dangerous Nook Tablet 7 chargers

While there's no reason to fear or try to return your ultra-low-cost new Nook Tablet 7, Barnes & Noble admits its power adapter can be dangerous.

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Apple sues accessories maker for counterfeit chargers on Amazon

Just as often as entities sue Apple, Apple sues others back. This week, it laid a complaint against a company called Mobile Star which Amazon has sourced Lightning connector chargers from.Amazon labeled at least one product, a generic 5W Apple-style charger with a 1-meter ...

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Galaxy S6 edge+ burns said to have come off the charger

This is part 3,912 of our series, “Phones on Fire,” where we talk about how phones catch on fire. The fact of the matter is that things explode sometimes — but how it happens is what makes these stories worth mentioning.Take one person who went to Android Headlines to tell their story of a phone on fire: they bought a

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