Shrinking Boxes: The Slow Path to Smartphone Sustainability

Sony, Apple, and the need for the smartphone industry to rethink packaging

There is a fine line between perception and reality. Companies, brands, and people will often bend over backward to appear a certain way, even if the reality doesn’t align with their billing. There will always be the truth of a product and the marketing spin that encourages people to buy the product. They often work hand in hand but that is not always the case. I couldn’t help but think of this dynamic when many tech reviewers were surprised that the new Sony Xperia 1 IV came with the phone and nothing else in the box. This move by Sony has created an interesting conversation over the eco-friendly movement in smartphones and brought up the question of environmentalism vs greed when it comes to packaging a smartphone.

Sony’s Radical Decision

For years now, companies have been taking more and more accessories out of the boxes of our smartphones. It used to be common practice to ship a phone with a charger, very large manual, headphones, and even a run-of-the-mill protective case. Eventually, this turned into a charging block and cable along with a quick start guide and maybe some headphones if you were lucky.

Then with the launch of the iPhone 12, Apple removed the headphones and charging block from the box. What was left was a very thin quick start guide and charging cable. The idea was that removing the charging block allowed the boxes to be smaller which meant that more could fit on shipping pallets, thus saving on environmental waste. This decision was rationalized by the idea that most people keep their chargers even after they upgrade to a new phone, so why not continue using the charger you already have? Sony has taken this idea and pushed it to the next level.

Sony has decided with its newest flagship to abstain from sending any additional accessories in the box. This means no charger, no cable, no quick start guide, and not even a SIM removal tool (Xperia phones feature tool-less trays). This is all part of Sony’s Road to Zero initiative for the company to be…