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The board is powered via USB-C PD at 12V, so it might as well have a 12V rail.

But with a SATA connector they probably would have to account for power hungry devices with spinning disks, which feels a bit antithetic to having a power efficient processor.

I've never come across a consumer 2.5" SATA device that uses 12V.

I've been plugging them into my laptop's USB ports for a couple of decades or so now with no 12V rail in sight

No issues.

And for 3.5" SATA devices, I am smart enough to know to use an external power supply.

Lack of on-board 12V has never stopped me.

It has also never stopped anyone with a conventional ATX PC on their desk (oh noes! external power again!)

Whatever the reason is to not include a SATA port, power ain't it.

I have a similar board on order, and yes, you need a 12v source

Only 3.5" drives need 12v though.