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Samsung didn't ship a charger with the Galaxy S21, but we can still hope for its next flagships. Or not.
What you need to know
- Samsung just launched the Galaxy Book Pro with a new, smaller USB-C charger.
- The fast charger is based on Gallium nitrate (GaN) and can achieve 65W charging speeds.
- Samsung has stated that it will gradually remove chargers from the in-box packaging of its smartphones, meaning it's unlikely its upcoming flagships will ship with GaN chargers.
Samsung just launched its new Galaxy Book Pro laptops at its recent Galaxy Unpacked event, with impressive design, specs, and mobile-focused features. Both offer thin designs, FHD AMOLED displays, and fairly large batteries. Samsung claims as much as eight hours of battery life from a 30-minute charge thanks to its new 65W fast charger, but the real story might be what the new charger is made with.
Samsung made quite a deal over its new Gallium nitride (GaN) charger at Unpacked. If you're not familiar, Gallium nitride is a chemical compound found in many electronics but only recently made its way into smartphone chargers. The benefit of this is that GaN-based semiconductors can be made much smaller than silicon-based ones while providing the same output. This means a laptop charger can provide a large amount of power at just half the physical size and using fewer materials.
A few years ago, our Jerry Hildenbrand wrote about how important Gallium nitride could be for charging, and it continues to be true now as Samsung highlighted during its presentation, including how its new fast charger can handle power more efficiently.
Following Apple's example, Samsung did not include charging adapters with its latest Galaxy S21 flagships, a move that it says will gradually extend its other smartphones to as part of the company's efforts for more sustainable practices. That means anyone buying the latest Galaxy flagships will have to use chargers they already had lying around or purchase a new one.
While this move could possible affect the rumored Galaxy Z Fold 3 and other 2021 flagships, Samsung did point out during its presentation that its new charger could be used on its latest flagship devices for a quick top-up. Of course, these latest devices only support 25W fast charging, which is admittedly slower than many of the best Android phones that have been launched this year, including the OnePlus 9 Pro. That's not to say that Samsung won't follow suit and up the charging speeds of its next flagships, but that remains to be seen. For now, we can chalk it up to wishful thinking.
If you're picking up one of Samsung's new Galaxy Book Pros, you'll be able to take advantage of the included charger. For anyone else looking for a good charger, particularly anyone with a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, we've already compiled a list of some of the best GaN chargers that are available today.
Samsung Galaxy Book Pro
The new Galaxy Book Pro is one of Samsung's most powerful Galaxy devices. It features a sleek design, a 13 or 15-inch AMOLED display, and plenty of features to connect seamlessly with Samsung's family of Galaxy devices, making it perfect if you already have one of Samsung's newest smartphones.
