Google decided that in YouTube for iOS the feature would be premium only, at least for now. Maybe they feel iOS users are more easily monetized. Who knows. It most certainly isn't a limitation of the platform.
> stripping out the ads is dangerously close to "I just want this for free, so I'll steal it"
I never use YouTube intentionally. The service is a bit of the perfect example of boiling a frog, with one short skippable ad becoming multiple skippable ads becoming multiple unskippable ads becoming multiple unskippable ads plus interstitial ads, on top of the content itself almost always having sleezy "sponsored by" advertising content. It's simply remarkable how what was supposedly the new world that would break us free from the classic television model has somehow gotten so much worse.
That doesn't really address your point, but it is kind of tough to feel too sympathetic. The morality becomes...clouded.
> On the other hand the fact that the entire thing seems to be Apple ecosystem
Google decided to be extra greedy towards iOS users, so users helped solve it. Sounds like you're giving it a thumbs up.