Yes. I believe it is possible to use an iPhone without registering or signing into Apple services apart from to install apps (and you could do that on the PC s

Yes. I believe it is possible to use an iPhone without registering or signing into Apple services apart from to install apps (and you could do that on the PC so you don't even have to do that on the device). You can sync, backup and completely manage the device locally with a PC/Mac. iCloud is entirely optional, anonymous crash reports can be disabled. If you go down that route you won't be tracked by Apple. In fact possibly the only service that would communicate with Apple is the maps service but you can disable the location services from that app just like those you download from the store. Now if you do use Apple's services I sort of trust them to be less competent at exploiting the information they will receive and I prefer this information to be in the hands of someone who doesn't also receive all my search requests too. Apple did have a weak spot until iOS 6 that apps could access your contacts (and photos providing location services were enabled for the app) without any control. That has now changed. Google on the other hand requires you to have a Google account from first boot (actually I've never tried Android on a phone in anger but the Google TV's did).