And your argument would be bad.
These people don't care that you can't compile code on their phone. They just care that they can use it for their general purpose needs.
Xbox is a device that hosts video games and media services. A phone is hosting all those and hundreds of other use-cases, from banking and financial services, to hardware access via IoT interfaces, car integration and myriad of other applications.
I mean, I'm not even on anyone's side here, I don't really care that much if they allow sideloading in iOS (I could think of a few reasons to use it, but I probably won't), I run a headless Linux machine to tinker with, I can build a gaming rig, I can and do all kinds of general purpose computation but I just don't think of my iPhone as a computer and I'd like to understand how someone who does is objectively more correct than me.
It doesn't need to be "turned" into a general purpose device. It already is. That's its nature. It's Apple who turned it into an "appliance" by artificially limiting what programs you can run on it. It quite literally is a general purpose computer that can run any program except the ones Apple doesn't like.
This is merely child's play, by the way. The future will no doubt feature governments wanting in on that action. Computers are subversive, after all. Encryption alone can make a mockery out of police and courts. They absolutely love the concept of a computer that runs only software that doesn't harm them.
I don’t understand what you’re saying. Apple didn’t find these devices in the wild and tame them. They created them.
That will become evident when governments force Apple to undo those artificial locks. You'll see there was nothing really limiting its potential beside's Apple's locks.
That doesn’t mean locking it down is bad or wrong.
So we finally agree. It's a perfectly fine computer, but Apple went and turned it into an iPhone App Executor.
> That doesn’t mean locking it down is bad or wrong.
It absolutely does. Apple owns the machine, not you. Apple has all the keys, not you. You will never be able to do anything with your device that Apple doesn't approve of. You've traded away your freedom for convenience.
I never argued that the hardware physically couldn’t execute instructions for other purposes
> Apple owns the machine, not you.
That’s not true. I can destroy it if I choose.
Do you feel that if you bought an xbox that don’t own that?
Never said you did. You said you didn't understand what I meant when I said computers are naturally able to compute.
> I can destroy it if I choose.
Apple has no problem with you destroying it. You've already paid for it. In fact they'd love it if you destroyed your phone since it means you'll have to buy another.
Try doing something they don't like. See who they machine obeys.
Computers aren’t naturally able to do anything.
This specific computer system was created as an iOS machine. That’s it’s “””natural””” purpose.