> An iPhone doesn’t depend on Apple the same way a PlayStation 5 doesn’t depend on Sony. Your presumption here is that Sony is in the right. Who says they are?

> An iPhone doesn’t depend on Apple the same way a PlayStation 5 doesn’t depend on Sony. Your presumption here is that Sony is in the right. Who says they are? The original PS3 allowed installing Linux and they only removed it due to the maintenance burden -- almost nobody was using it except the US government. Even still, you can upload your own OS to a PS5. There's no magic hardware stopping you. You can even replace parts ... or even just rip it out and make a handheld device like one guy did on youtube. You can't do that with a modern iPhone. It will brick itself if you replace the screen. > If these were not specialized, we should see similar devices on the market to satisfy all manner of customers similar to what we see with general purpose hardware So, you're saying that Samsung doesn't sell cellphones? The hardware is so specialized that Apple is the only one who can make a cellphone? I find that extremely hard to believe that Apple hardware doesn't use electronic circuits, CPU's, and other modern technology. Are you asserting that iPhone's run on magic? > I’m genuinely curious: why do you want an iPhone then? I moved out of my home country and my parents have an iPhone. We literally own one just to use FaceTime with them because they don't understand whatsapp and they want to talk to my son. Beyond that, I make apps, and I need a physical device to test things on. > But I also understand why it’s not, and what that lack of flexibility provides me. I don't understand why there is a lack of flexibility. I have a few custom tools I've built, and having to reinstall them every week makes it utterly pointless to use an iPhone. How is that a reasonable lack of flexibility?