In September 2020, Apple announced the iPhone 12 series, which is made of four devices, this time around with the smallest of the bunch, the iPhone 12 Mini.
The announcement, as is the case with Apple product launches, was marked with flare thanks to its exemplary presentation skills that appear to have been sharpened during the pandemic.
Perhaps not so welcome was the announcement that Apple would ditch charging bricks/adapters in their packages, which confirmed the rumours that the trillion-dollar company was exploring such a brave decision.
This is not the first time that the company has made a controversial decision; this is the same company that steered the industry to stopping including a headphone socket in smartphones. There were a ton of explanations for the development, including the need to create more space in devices for bigger batteries, and that the decision would see the industry transition to an all-wireless ecosystem, starting with wireless earbuds.
This also saw Apple launch wireless Airpods, and Apple marketed them so well they were among the most highly purchased headphones in the industry.
And since Apple is a trendsetter, and every player considers it a special tech company, we saw companies drop headphone jacks, and replicated the Airpods strategy with in-house solutions.
Now, back to the charger case: at first, we saw the likes of Xiaomi and Samsung make fun of Apple for that decision, but we all knew the companies were going to copy the move anyway.
Xiaomi, for instance, has since launched the Mi 11, which doesn’t ship with a charger; however, customers in its native China can choose a full package at no extra cost.
The other day, Samsung launched the S21 series. As expected, they will not be distributed with charging bricks. The same argument that Apple used is being presented here; that the decision is good for the environment, and there is a likelihood that a customer has a charger at home already.
Oh, you also don’t get earphones this time around.
They still give you a cable anyway, so that is not so bad.
Now onto the interesting part: this trend is not going to be limited to high-end devices only.
All of its future devices will eventually ship without an adapter and earphones, but the process will be gradual.
Will the process be accelerated or take some time to fully implement? Samsung hasn’t revealed that detail, yet, so we will sit back and watch.
Is this something people are ready for? Probably not, but let’s face it, these are huge tech companies that command substantial market shares, so once a precent has been set, and the balls are rolling, people will just have to adapt (ha!).
In the meantime, the S21 series is already on preorder in Kenya, starting at KES 100K all the way to a healthy KES 170K.
Check out the device’s specifications below:
| Specs | S21 | S21 Plus | S21 Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body | Plastic back GG Victus front | GG Victus front and back | GG Victus front and back |
| Weight | 171g | 202g | 229g |
| Screen | Flat 6.2″ FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2400 x 1080 pixels 120 Hz | Flat 6.7″ FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2400 x 1080 pixels 120 Hz | Curved 6.8″ QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 3200 x 1440 pixels 120 Hz |
| Chip | Exynos 2100 | Exynos 2100 | Exynos 2100 |
| RAM | 8 GB | 8 GB | 12/16 GB |
| Internal | 128/256 GB No SD card support | 128/256 GB No SD card support | 128/256/512 GB No SD card support |
| Fingerprint reader | Ultrasonic In-Display reader | Ultrasonic In-Display reader | Ultrasonic In-Display reader |
| Main Camera | Triple 12 MP wide angle with OIS 12 MP ultra-wide 64 MP telephoto with OIS | Triple 12 MP wide angle with OIS 12 MP ultra-wide 64 MP telephoto with OIS | Quad 108 MP wide-angle with OIS 12 MP ultra-wide 10 MP telephoto, OIS, 3x optical zoom 10 MP telephoto, OIS, 10x optical zoom |
| Selfie | 10 MP | 10 MP | 40 MP |
| Radios | 5G Bluetooth 5.2 Wi-Fi 6 | 5G Bluetooth 5.2 Wi-Fi 6 | 5G Bluetooth 5.2 Wi-Fi 6 |
| Headphone socket | No | No | No |
| Audio | Stereo with dual-speakers | Stereo with dual-speakers | Stereo with dual-speakers |
| Battery | 4000 mAh | 4800 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| IP certification | IP68 | IP68 | IP68 |
| Software | Android 11 OneUI 3.1 | Android 11 OneUI 3.1 | Android 11 OneUI 3.1 |
| Colours | Phantom Violet Phantom Gray Phantom White Phantom Pink | Phantom Violet Phantom Gray Phantom White | Phantom Gray Phantom White |
| Price | 128 GB version - KES 100,000 256 GB version - KES 106,000 | KES 125000 | 256 GB version - KES 154,000 512 GB version - KES 170,000 |
