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> Why do laptop chargers have data wires? Charging cables have data wires because then they can be used as data cables, meaning you can pull the end out of the charger and plug it into some other device, since the USB-C port on the laptop that accepts charge is certain to be a dual-role port. If charging cables didn’t have data wires, you’d have to swap cables in this use case. > Why don’t the charger manufacturers do this themselves and remove the data wires if there is no purpose for them? It creates an unnecessary security risk by having the data wires. Because then everyone would have to buy additional USB-C data cables, and then (because it is more convenient) they’d use those with the charger anyway, and the only product would be more e-waste. I mean, the charger already is probably going to last much longer than the supplied cable, and eventually people are going to be using a separate cable with it, using a useless-for-other-purposes cable just accelerates that. And the security risk is from untrusted chargers. For the charger manufacturer, their charger isn’t untrusted. If the buyer doesn’t trust them, they won’t trust them to supply a safe cable whether or not they actually do, so its not even a useful “secure” sales gimmick. If someone has security concerns about the charger manufacturer, they’ll get a power-only cable from a trusted party and use that, there is no benefit to anyone from the charger manufacturer providing a power-only cable except, I guess, for customers for whom the charger manufacturer is a trusted party, who wants a cable they can use with the original charger and also when they are charging from untrusted other chargers on the road, but compared to people who are better served by dual use cables and people who will use a separately-acquired “safe” cable with any charger, that’s going to be a very small audience. |