Technology

Fast charging modes need fat copper wires.

Using any old cable my phone takes approximately 4 to 5 hours to charge. Using the cable that came with it the phone takes approximately 25 minutes to charge. Literally everyone with fast charging needs the specified cable to get those speeds. Most phones these days support fast charging. So most people use special cables. Now, a lot probably aren't aware that there's a difference, hence all these comments, but that doesn't mean there isn't a difference.

Wasnt the case, at least for me. My phone supports up to 30W charging, and the only cable i have that supports that is the one that came with the phone

The cable that comes with my phone is the only way to get full speed charging so that's false outfight.

There are lots of standards for charging over USB such as PD. Many of those standards have multiple versions since newer devices keep needing more power. That's to be expected of an interface that's been around for almost 30 years. If every device came with a 240W USB PD charger, the price would increase by over USD $100, not to mention the only model I've seen is the size of a brick.

I'm honestly not sure (given the price the cable likely adds to the price of the device vs the quality/longevity of the cable) that I want it. Apple has been notorious for selling their charging cables at a premium while making them basically as cheaply as possibly. Other companies have literally made their brand on being better than the OEM cables and chargers you get with devices.

Other phone manufacturers aren't exempt from the phone cable failure thing either. It's crazy to me that they were allowed to sell such shoddy accessories in the first place.

When you add in the ways that countries are trying to cut down on e-waste I can't say I'm surprised.

My main point was that you pay for it regardless. All the things you list i can also do with a cable i simply purchase seperately. But the difference here is that i can either choose not to buy one, if i don't need it. Or purchase a specific one e.g. a very long one, if i prefer that over the standard short one.

I doubt most manufacturers would lower the price when stopping to include them, but they might delay raising it for a while. In any case i think the economic mechanism (at least in an idealistic setting) is logical.

I don't think it would logistically make sense to have versions with and without accessories included, since that instantly doubles the version count. But most if not all places that sell phones also sell cables/chargers. So in that way the choice already exists.

That said i think this line of thinking mostly works because we have standardized on USB-C for quite a while now, so the assumption that most people already have access to a cable is valid. This would be different if they'd require specific cables like e.g. my garmin watch does, which you wouldn't normally have and that you'd likely purchase from the same manufacturer. In that case seperating them might have the opposite effect in making the price to consumers less transparent.

Also i could get behind the idea that not including something like a cable would require a prominent warning lable that "a cable or wireless charger (if applicable)" is required for longterm use.