You can change the USB-C port assembly on an iPhone in 109 easy steps ;) https://en.ifixit.com/Anleitung/iPhone+17+Pro+Max+USB-C+Port+Assembly+Replacement/206397?lang=en

But I get the appeal.

Looks like they are en par with Apple, if you ignore the occasional critical bug fix for way out of date iOS versions. https://iosref.com/ios

Not to mention they are no monopoly by any definition. I can buy games at half a dozen other stores I know of, probably a hundred I don’t.

They have not changed anything in forever. Even the boot loader is unlocked.

I install tons of software with homebrew and nix every day. Yes, sometimes you need to allow a new version explicitly. Also yes, Apple could probably disallow that globally, but that would be a big change for something they allowed for 50 years.

I think this will definitely come. It’s just a matter of time.

It runs macOS so you can install any stuff that you want. With asahi Linux showing you can also install other operating systems. I think a retrograde lockdown might be possible, but it’s unlikely.