It does seem particularly odd, especially given the attention to detail they are famous for.
I can’t imagine someone really sat down and decided the messaging made sense for free apps.
It's the sort of thing that gets fixed quickly when a Steve Jobs-type character sees it and has the clout to get it fixed without debate. When Jobs says it's a problem, you have to be pretty damn sure if you want to disagree. The problem with Apple today is that there's no singular vision like that.
Is it possible to download free apps from the App Store without ever giving payment details to Apple? For example, if I don't set up card details during phone set up, can I still download free apps?
Yes. The UI is obtuse, but you can create an Apple ID with the payment method set to "none" and then download free apps
My suspicion is that they explicitly call this a payment for legal reasons.
Maybe they just want to normalize the fact that you should give them money.
Because it is not free, it is an unpaid lease.
Yeah, how have they not fixed this?! I find this incredibly confusing.