Chinese smartphone makers have been resisting the urge to remove chargers from their phones when Apple and Samsung have said goodbye to the bundled chargers in phones.
Oppo (along with its sub-brands) has been the brand to lead the super fast charging revolution with VOOC and Super VOOC fast charging standards. Now Oppo is ready to say goodbye to the bundled chargers from its phones.
Android Police has reported that at a European Oppo Reno 8 series launch, Oppo's President of Overseas Sales and Services, Billy Zhang, revealed this. He said, "We will take the charger out of the box in the next year for several products. We have a plan."
He hasn't revealed which devices will get the axe first. It is also suggested that it depends on specific markets and products. So we may see the same product with a charger in a market while without a charger in a different market.
According to Billy Zhang, "It's not easy for consumers to get access to [SuperVOOC chargers], so we have to keep it in the box. However, as we expand our business operations, we are looking to take chargers out of the box and put them in the store so that our users can buy them and continue using them even when they upgrade their devices."
He did not reveal any specific reason for removing the charger; it could be the usual saving the environment by cutting down on e-waste reasoning. We will know once the first phone gets launched without a charger.
Another thing to note is that this will be followed up by Oppo group brands such as OnePlus and Realme soon. We are not sure about Vivo and iQoo, as they're also BBK brands; they could also follow suit soon.
Say bye to chargers on all phones?
What Apple does, others follow.
Apple removed the charger from the box back in 2020 on iPhone 12 series. Even though Samsung mocked Apple back when it happened, it soon removed chargers in its various phones.
It seems like it's not just Samsung; other brands are also keen on removing chargers from the box. Recently Xiaomi removed the in-box charger from Redmi Note 11SE launched in India, and we are in doubt if the future Redmi Note devices will come with a charger in the box.
Now, Oppo has announced this. And Oppo being a huge brand and having two different brands under its belt, OnePlus and Realme, means a lot.
It might be time we can say goodbye to chargers in all the phones on the market, not just select ones.
There was a time when all the phones came with earphones in the box, but now none of them had them. The same is the case with the headphone jack; it is removed left and right. The chargers in the box might also have the same fate soon.
For the time being, save your chargers; you might want to use them for years.
