I think it's to offset the price of manufacturing such that its no longer viable to skip on the electrical side of things due to the lower marginal costs and ev

I think it's to offset the price of manufacturing such that its no longer viable to skip on the electrical side of things due to the lower marginal costs and even if there is skimping, it would be easier for the host device to workaround it. The cynic in me thinks that having so many turing complete microcontrollers with not insignificant performance and storage is going to be the NSA and other spy agencies wet dream. You wouldn't plug a strange USB into your phone or computer but you'd probably plug a strange cable or charger around your office/house or off Amazon - and that's if you could even tell the difference at a glance.