NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 03: A Samsung Galaxy Note20 on display in New York City. (Photo by Dia ... [+]
Getty Images for SamsungSamsung lightly mocking Apple’s decision to not include a charger in the iPhone 12 box is solid enough evidence that the Korean company will eventually do exactly the same.
The PR own-goal of deriding, and then directly copying, your main competitor is clearly too tempting for some companies, which is why it keeps happening. That’s the only explanation.
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Google fired off a jibe in Apple's direction for removing the headphone jack at the first Pixel phone launch in 2016, then it ditched the 3.5mm connection a year later. Samsung did the same with the headphone jack and then quietly took down the sarcastic adverts after it launched the Galaxy Note 10 last year - a phone with no headphone jack.
And now, in 2020, the Galaxy-maker again poked some fun at Apple’s decision to not include a charger with the iPhone 12. But it looks like Samsung will do exactly the same for the Galaxy S21.
Sources speaking to Korean publication ChosunBiz (via SamMobile) claim that Samsung is considering removing the headphones and bundled charger from the Galaxy S21 box when it launches next year. The report also states that it’s highly likely that the headphones will be removed from the S21 box, even if the charger brick stays. ET News also reported in July that a charger won't be included with the S21.
Samsung is already rationing the free pair of USB-C AKG headphones that comes with its 2020 5G phones depending on where you buy them from. So axing the headphones entirely might be the next natural step. Removing the charger is entirely new territory, though.
It is perhaps no surprise that where Apple leads, others follow. The normalisation of removing smartphone freebies happened when Apple ditched the add-ons in the iPhone 12 - and rode out the minor uprising that decision generated. Others can now enjoy the higher profits and lower shipping costs that come from giving buyers less, and pass it off as environmental activism.
But where Samsung shouldn’t follow Apple is on pricing. Apple’s iPhone 12 isn’t meaningfully cheaper in comparison to the iPhone 11. The Galaxy S21 should be. In fact, considering Samsung's recent attitude towards pricing - which includes the release of the surprisingly cheap Galaxy S20 FE, generous trade-in deals and an Xbox Game Pass freebie - I think the S21 will be cheaper.
A serious price cut is something Samsung should be looking at because it represents a tangible trade-off. If you get less phone, you should pay less. That's a reasonable deal. But getting less phone, whilst paying the same amount as before, is a harder pill to swallow.
The logic of just selling the phone without a charger or earphones is solid. Most consumers will already have a charger and Samsung wants to drive people towards buying its wireless earbuds. Both are made easier if buyers save a bit of cash on the device itself.
Axing freebies from the Galaxy S21 isn’t the only major change coming to Samsung’s next flagship. It could also arrive six weeks earlier and it might come with an S Pen, which would mean the end of the Note range. According to Korean publication MTN, which broke the news, Samsung is shaking up its next major handset to “proactively respond to rapidly changing market conditions”. Poor Galaxy S20 sales and a more difficult economic reality because of the pandemic is almost certainly forcing Samsung’s hand, which likely means we’ll see cheaper phones from the Korean company in the future.
Got a tip, thoughts or something to complain about? Let me know.
The Link LonkOctober 28, 2020 at 04:43AM
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Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Can Outflank Apple With A Serious Price Cut - Forbes
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