I wouldn't call enforcing consistency in a primary interaction mode "silly." There would be a considerable increase in cognitive load if a user had to parse wh

I wouldn't call enforcing consistency in a primary interaction mode "silly." There would be a considerable increase in cognitive load if a user had to parse what they're seeing every time a keyboard appears. You'd benefit the tail (e.g., people who want to code on an iPad) but reduce utility for the majority of users. Like most things, it's a trade-off, and Apple usually (almost always?) lands on the side of simplicity in that trade-off.