Xiaomi is dropping the charger from its next phone despite mocking Apple for doing the...

[midian182]

Facepalm: Not for the first time, it appears that several tech giants are copying an Apple move after initially mocking it. The latest company that probably wishes it stayed silent is Xiaomi, which recently confirmed the upcoming Mi 11 handset will lack a charger in the box.

Soon after the iPhone 12 launched in October, Xiaomi became the latest company to join in the derision aimed at Apple, tweeting: “Don’t worry, we didn’t leave anything out of the box with the Mi 10T Pro.” The post included a video showing the phone’s box with a wall charger inside.

Don't worry, we didn't leave anything out of the box with the #Mi10TPro. pic.twitter.com/ToqIjfVEQX

— Xiaomi (@Xiaomi) October 14, 2020

Now, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun has used Chinese social media platform Weibo to reveal the follow-up Mi 11 will not have an included charger. Much like Apple, Lei says the decision has been taken for environmental reasons.

The slightly embarrassing situation isn’t unique to Xiaomi. Apple’s main phone rival Samsung threw shade at Cupertino in October with a Facebook post highlighting the Galaxy line’s bundled charger. But rumors that the Korean firm was considering dropping the accessory have long been circulating, and it seems even more likely to happen after that mocking post was deleted without explanation.

We’ve been here before, of course. Apple’s “brave” decision to remove the headphone jack from its phones was slammed by most of the industry before virtually every manufacturer followed suit.

Apple claims that by not shipping chargers with the iPhone 12, it is cutting over 2 million metric tons of carbon—the equivalent of 450,000 cars. Anything that helps protect the environment is to be applauded, but with handset prices continuing to rise, the savings aren’t being passed on to consumers.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/88093-xiaomi-dropping-charger-next-phone-despite-mocking-apple.html

 

[Ottis]

Am I missing something here? I still need the charger, so I will buy have to buy it anyway and it will come in another box. Where is the CO2 saved by this move?

 

[theruck]

Am I missing something here? I still need the charger, so I will buy have to buy it anyway and it will come in another box. Where is the CO2 saved by this move?

they expect you perhaps to use your old 5W charger for the new phone requiring 15W

 

[amghwk]

Anything that helps protect the environment is to be applauded, but with handset prices continuing to rise, the savings aren’t being passed on to consumers.

Exactly to the point. They claim they're championing saving the earth. But the cost is getting higher and the omission of chargers is not reflected in the sale price. What I see is, these corporates are just earning more and more and becoming richer and richer in the name of "protecting the environment".

You know what is even better to protect the environment? Stop buying new phones from these companies altogether and get used second-hand phones. Save the earth!

 

[SixTymes]

"environmental reasons."

such a lie, and sheople believe it.

 

[Puiu]

Hypocrisy at its finest.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

#1 What's the point of including a charger if you're only going to include the 5W model instead of the 12W or higher W that we really need?

#2 Everyone copies Apple because they know Apple "does business" on a level they can't imagine. Who is surprised that these cheap knockoffs are now copying Apple strategies?

Cars pretty much come with either USB C or USB 3.0 chargers built in.

People already have a ton of chargers at home - including simply plugging into one of the many USB ports they have at home in various devices - including their computer.

The way I see it, dropping a packaged charger doesn't make much of a difference and people will choose the charging solution they desire anyway.

 

[Shadowboxer]

This is good news for the planet and that’s no myth or conspiracy. Less chargers is less plastic waste and less plastic will need to be buried, burned or chucked in the ocean etc, how hard is that to grasp? Chargers make up so much e waste. It’s literally thousands of tonnes of waste sitting in peoples homes etc.

A lot of people upset at having to buy a charger because they only have about twelve 5w chargers and no fast charging one? Oh boo ****ing boo, my heart bleeds.

Well done Xiaomi, Apple and all the other corpos forcing users to recycle chargers more.

 

[p51d007]

Eventually all will do this for "saving the environment". Plus making more money.
Right now, they cost what...pennies to produce and were included with the phones.
The price won't decrease due to them leaving them out of the box, but, you can expect them
to charge 10-20 bucks or more for the "right" to buy one
Personally, I don't use them, I have a dock with a bunch of usb cords to recharge things.

 

[RobinHoot]

You know, if these companies actually cared about the environment they wouldn't be making new models of phones every year.

 

[Markoni35]

"Saving the environment"?? Yeah, right. More like being cheapos who want to save a few cents.

This reminds me when printer producers wanted to save a few cents by not including the data cable with the printer. This "fashion" didn't last long, as users would buy a printer, come home, and couldn't print. They had to go back to the store to buy the freaking cable. When the angry users started to call, tech support costs were probably higher than the cost of printer cable. So nowadays they include the freaking cable.

 

[amghwk]

Those who champion these companies' policy of saving the environment by omitting chargers, should also stop buying new phones every year, just because it's a newer model and walk the talk.

 

[nismo91]

We'll soon see phones boxed without usb cables at all. but perhaps we'll see more phones priced above $1999 first.

 

[wiak]

Wait what, what's next? drop the display?

 

[EndRessentiment]

They could just give the consumer the choice... Buy one without charger, or pay like $5/€5 more to have a charger included. Something like that.

 

[cuerdc]

They could just give the consumer the choice... Buy one without charger, or pay like $5/€5 more to have a charger included. Something like that.

Or sell seperately at £19 for the plug and £19 for the cable.
I wonder if they will remove headphone socket too the little adapters are nice chargable extras.