As a person who isn't in the Apple ecosystem, this has always been what kept me off iOS. If I have an Android device, I can use Linux or Windows (or macOS for

As a person who isn't in the Apple ecosystem, this has always been what kept me off iOS. If I have an Android device, I can use Linux or Windows (or macOS for that matter) on my laptop/desktop. If I have an iOS device, not using macOS just doesn't make sense and the only way to get a macOS legally is buying Apple hardware. When the Apple watch came out, I was interested to see what Apple brings to the space but my interest was killed when I realized it will for all intents and purposes be an iOS companion device, not a true standalone product. So buying an Apple watch would have meant replacing my phone with an iPhone, which would have meant replacing my laptop with a macbook and my Android tablet with an iPad. On paper there's nothing stopping anyone from using iOS devices and keeping their desktop/laptop on Windows or Linux. But the path of least resistance is buying into the entire Apple ecosystem (including iCloud, iTunes, etc) and getting any non-Apple alternative to occupy any of the slots Apple provides its own options for is an uphill battle (e.g. even when Apple provided a Windows version of iTunes it was notoriously bad, slow and lagging behind). This irks me not only because it means you'll want to replace every digital device and every app Apple provides a stock solution for, you'll also find it nearly impossible to leave because there's no clear migration path if you have come to rely on iCloud, Keynote, Facetime, iMessage, your Apple wallet, your Apple credit card, or even Apple maps. If you want to add any "foreign" device, it will instantly be a worse experience than if you had picked the Apple alternative. Instead you'd have to either go cold turkey or wean yourself off by using alternative cross-platform apps when available (and willingly accepting the worse experience). I think there are plenty of disingenuous criticisms of Apple (especially about their devices being "overpriced" when they're really just "too expensive" compared to equivalent consumer products available with more affordable specs) but I think it's extremely fair to describe their practices as an extreme example of vendor lock-in.