Samsung's surprise in-box charger with new Fold gives us false hope for S25

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Published onOctober 29, 2024

Samsung followed Apple by ditching the bundled charger in its flagship Android phones a few years ago, only offering a USB-C cable in its phone boxes. This trend has also applied to its foldables, but it looks like the latest Galaxy foldable brings a welcome change.

SamMobile reports that the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition has a charger in the box, and we were able to confirm this on the Samsung Korea website. Check out the image below, as seen on the Samsung webpage.

We’re glad to see this change, but we’re guessing this isn’t a sign of things to come for Samsung. Perhaps the biggest reason why you shouldn’t expect Samsung phones with a bundled charger in many regions is due to the EU’s Common Charger Directive. This guidance states that phones should ideally ship without a charging adapter to reduce e-waste.

There are also several other reasons why Samsung might not want to offer bundled chargers again. For one, the company is saving money by not offering a free charger with every phone purchase, forcing people to either use their old chargers or buy new ones. The smaller phone box size means the company can save on shipping costs by cramming more phones into one shipment.

This isn’t the only Samsung phone to buck recent smartphone trends, though. The Galaxy Xcover 7 was launched back in January and offers a 3.5mm port, a microSD card slot, and a removable battery.