Yesterday, we told you about Samsung’s apparent plans to put chips in their accessories. In doing so, they’ll create an environment where only their accessories will work with their devices. While we initially thought it would be things like chargers, it may go much deeper than that.



According to ETNews, Samsung has already started the process with their Note 3. According to ETNews, which sites “insiders”, Samsung has already begun sending out chips to their accessory providers and proprietary accessory supply factory. These chips have apparently been included in everything from the charger (expected) to the Note 3 flip case.

ETNews also reports the cases will not work properly without said chip. This also applies to wireless chargers, though the covers work in unison with the wireless charging cradle, so it’s not yet clear just how far reaching this is. It’s also worth noting that both of those accessories are Samsung’s, though the report mentions they have distributed these chips to accessory suppliers.

Whether “suppliers” refers to third-party manufacturers who supply parts to Samsung — or approved accessory suppliers — is unknown. If this is a move to create an environment where only Samsung branded accessories work with Samsung devices, we’d expect a lot of backlash from users. If this program affects all devices and accessories at some point, we’d also expect Samsung to make a big push to get these accessories into more stores.

VIA: Android Authority