Google confirms the Pixel 6 won't ship with a charger in the box

Google has confirmed plans to skip bundling a charging adapter with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, joining other major smartphone makers in the trend.

The upcoming Pixel 5a should be the last Pixel device to include a brick, The Verge reports Google as saying. The latter claims that most people already have a USB-C charger, so there’s no need to offer the accessory.

Apple and Samsung kicked off the brickless trend in 2020, the former citing environmental reasons. Indeed the tactic should be reducing resource consumption, shipping costs, and e-waste, but critics have noted that it also improves profit margins, forcing people who don’t have a compatible adapter to buy one separately. Many phones have also ditched bundled earbuds.

The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are expected to ship sometime this fall. Both will make use of Google’s first internally-designed processor, the Tensor, and in-display fingerprint sensors. The Pro however will have a 6.7-inch 1440p display rated at 120Hz, an upgrade from the 6.4-inch, 1080p, 90Hz panel on the regular 6. The Pro will likewise add a telephoto camera with 4x optical zoom on top of the main and ultra-wide cameras on its sibling.