They very well could be doing this for the sake of providing user's with a lower price tag and the environment.
I'd rather a company that has the willingness to remove such a belittlement and admit they were wrong via their actions than one that blatantly holds strong to every single thing they've ever said or advertised like it must be done to make their previous statements feel true in the public eye.
The company shows humility. At the same time, they're a company and it wouldn't be in their best interest to come out and make a public statement that their previous statements weren't necessarily correct.
That said, there still are plenty of people who want a headphone jack and require a charger for their devices. Those who purchase the flagship usually don't fall into those two categories and I think it is a good decision on their part to not include the standard 15w charger.
A 25w or 45w charger is great but would likely raise the device's MRSP while also degrading the battery a tad bit faster than the 15w one would. For most, an additional 15w charger will end up in a drawer somewhere (or replacing a current one that will end up in the drawer instead... or worse, a landfill).