Phones may come without bundled USB cables in the future, if OEMs have their way

Back in 2020, we came across a rather nasty surprise when Apple refused to include a power adapter in the iPhone 12 lineup's packaging. Since then, most major OEMs have followed that path and it's pretty much become the norm to exclude the charging adapter from the phone's box. Now, it seems like some OEMs are paving the way to removing the charging cable too.

As Android Authority reports, recent Reddit threads have indicated that the Sony Xperia 10 VII comes without both the charging brick and the cable. This isn't a mistake on Sony's side, because the omission is highlighted in the graphics shown on the packaging too.

Of course, the public rationale is the same, which is that having fewer accessories reduces the negative impact on the environment, and the smaller size of the packaging means that there is less wastage of materials too. That said, one thing that OEMs never say out publicly is that they are also saving a ton of money by retaining their device's price tag and still ditching accessories in the process.

The expectation from the consumer is that they have likely amassed a large number of cables and bricks from their old devices, so they do not need to get new charging accessories each time they buy a phone. However, what is conveniently ignored is that not all charging bricks and cables are the same. Varying combinations may get you different charging speeds, depending upon your phone's configuration and charging standard.

Of course, Sony is not a major player in the smartphone space by any margin, but seeing that even a small company has the audacity to simply remove a cable from the box, it wouldn't at all be surprising to see bigger OEMs like Apple and Samsung take the same path down the line too.

Source

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Posted Tuesday 7 October 2025 at 4:29 pm AEST (my time).

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