In this case I wonder why consumers are still allowed to use any charger they like. There have been multiple incidents with cheap and dangerous chargers.
Probably because there’s still a layer of protection (in the charger and power management ICs inside the phone) that will prevent certain charger failures (like overvoltage) from actually reaching the battery.
But yeah, some charger failures (like isolation failure between primary and secondary) have been deadly, and one could argue that it would have been smarter to lock down chargers more.
Sorry, it's only about profit maximization and design.
That’s one factor in the decision, for sure. Never said it wasn’t. But it’s definitely not the only factor.
The liability argument is a red herring.
No, it definitely isn’t. Have you somehow
not noticed how litigious people are, e.g. in USA? If someone gets injured or killed, and
something exists that the manufacturer
could have done but didn’t, they’re open for a lawsuit. It doesn’t mean the plaintiff will win. It doesn’t mean the argument is reasonable. But a lawsuit costs time and money, and in the case of companies, even if they win, it can easily happen that public opinion turns on them. (Like Ford with the Pinto: Ford’s image suffered tremendously from the Pinto lawsuits, even though in the end, it was shown that the Pinto was no more likely to catch fire in a rear-end collision than any competing small car.)
In the end, a company’s lawyers (and the liability insurance companies who will be paying out if damage is awarded) will perform careful risk analyses which will determine which options are even on the table. Other factors will then decide which of those options to go with.
Another example: brake pads for your car. Do you have to get them replaced with new ones from the car manufacturer at a licenced dealership/garage? Or can you go to any garage you like and get brake pads from whatever brand available? Or even swap them yourself?
Have you not noticed that this is exactly the direction car repairs have been going?
But realistically, your car has 4 brakes operated by at least two different mechanisms. So one brake pad failing isn’t likely to cause immediate danger.
The other thing is that in most cases where car parts have been to blame for harm or injury, it’s been clearly obvious who is to blame.
That’s a lot harder in a cellphone that’s been burnt to a crisp in its battery fire.