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Your house has 120V AC and your phone needs 5V DC (slightly more if it’s a modern USB C phone).

Converting to that voltage requires some electronics. If you’re asking why not just include them in the cable, like laptop chargers —- well you could, but why? It will be just as bulky but if the cable becomes frayed you’ll be generating a lot more ewaste than just getting a new USB cable.

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This was a huge problem with Apple’s laptop chargers several years ago. They would fray at the junction between the power adapter and the cable, resulting in another $129 out of your pocket and more e-waste. Granted, the power brick for a phone is much smaller, but the potential problem is the same.

I guess maybe I can just permanently attach the brick to the cable in some way so that I only have to keep track of one thing rather than two things.

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