Did you come from the Berenstein Bears universe? Apple does unpopular things constantly. The iPhone 12 doesn't come with a charger, and you think they're terrified of controversy?
Apple's MO is to double down on controversy.
I’ve long felt Apple is a Rorschach test. How you feel about the company and its products often says more about your priorities than the company itself.
Likewise there are many examples of how Apple works against the public interest.
That's the kind of thing I mean: soundbite analysis of Apple's policies makes it very easy to cast them as the big baddies.
As with most "controversial" things Apple does, like removing the headphone jack, the other companies then follow suit.
You need to understand Apple's position in the market vs. everyone else to know why Apple goes first. Apple's retention is off the charts. If you are Xiaomi, you can't give your user any reason to buy an iPhone or you've lost them forever. It would be suicide for other vendors to take these kinds of ticky tack steps first.
Both Huawei and Samsung are also not shipping chargers in new models (both of which made fun of Apple for not doing so at first).