A new leak suggests the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, which is expected to be revealed on August 11, will feature a pre-order deal with a free case, S Pen stylus and 25W charger.

This heavily suggests the phone won’t come with a charger in the box. Why would Samsung include a charger in the pre-order deal if there was already one included in the main package?

This may seem like a complicated way to get yourself a charger, but I think this could be the best idea from a manufacturer yet to make up for the disappointment of it dropping the charger from the box.

Many manufacturers are dropping the default charger from the box to try and limit each phone’s environmental impact. We’ve seen Samsung do this before, as well as Apple’s most recent iPhone 12 series and a variety of other Android manufacturers.

During the Samsung Galaxy S21 launch earlier this year – the company’s first flagship phone to drop the charger from the box – we spoke to the company on why it was making this move.

Paul Scott, Samsung Mobile’s Head of Product Management in the UK, told TechRadar, “It’s a really bold but really important step at the same time. Listening to our consumers, they’re making far more, as we are, sustainable choices in their daily lives, and what we need to do is make sure that we support that.”

“We do not want to be sending a consumer yet another charger when they’ve possibly got a charger from, say, 2018 or going all the way back to 2017. It’s a USB Type-C charger, so we’re not changing it.”

While Samsung has yet to confirm this is the case for the Galaxy Z Fold 3, many leaks have suggested it will be and this latest pre-order deal leaks heavily hints that the foldable will be following the Galaxy S21 and dropping the in-box charger.

Samsung has introduced phones since the Galaxy S21 that include chargers in the box, but none of them have been expensive flagships like the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Why is this good?

I believe the reason many are upset with manufacturers dropping a charger from the box is the fact they believe they’re being shortchanged. They’re spending the same amount on a phone as when a charger was in the box, and now they’re getting less.

That’s valid, but Samsung is also right. Many customers upgrading don’t need that charger included in the box, and often you’ll find the charger you already have at home is suitable for your new smartphone.

So why not include a charger, but as a separate element to the smartphone itself? I believe manufacturers should offer a free charger to any customer purchasing a phone, but it should be a separate claim process.

This is something Samsung is used to doing – if you get a free gift alongside your smartphone such as a smartwatch or headphones, you often have to claim it through a separate system after you’ve bought the handset itself.

If you already own a charger, you won’t have a spare one that just sits in the box. That’s the biggest frustrating of e-waste.

On the other hand, if you do need a new charger – whether that’s because you don’t own a USB-C one, or you just want new fast-charging technology – you could then claim that and gain it without spending extra.

It may not actually happen, but it seems Samsung may be embracing an idea that allows you to get a charger for free if you need one while also ensuring not every single handset has a charger in the box by default.

Via GSMArena