Top mobile phone manufacturers have adopted latest trend of shipping phones without major accessories like chargers and earphones in a move to tame the runaway pollution of electronic waste.
The trend was initiated by Apple in 2020 when it shipped its first consignment of iPhones without chargers causing outrage among users who protested the phone maker’s reluctance to cut the prices.
The US tech giant manufacturer said then that the decision to do away with phone chargers and earphones from the phone package was to reduce plastic waste.
Years later, other phone brands are increasingly taking cue with Samsung releasing its latest S22 series without the in-box proprietary chargers and earphones.
The director of Internet and Mobile experience at Samsung said the shift is in line with the company’s plan to deal with e-waste management.
Oppo is also said to be on its way to the adoption of the trend.
In their argument the manufacturers said that most smartphones have a short life span leaving users stuck with chargers which are not in use. They argue it would not make conservation sense to continue letting out more yet consumers can use the accessories they have already piled in their houses.
The populace in many consumer economies including in Kenya has however expressed their dissatisfaction with the shift, the main concern being the cost stagnation.
