In the USA, isn't the real issue that you can indeed buy your phone unsubsidized, it's just a hassle (or impossible) to get your new phone's fancy features work

In the USA, isn't the real issue that you can indeed buy your phone unsubsidized, it's just a hassle (or impossible) to get your new phone's fancy features working on a carrier? Why would someone want to pay $700 for an iphone/android and then have half of the features not work, because they can't get a compatible plan?