I think they have been leading in this area and by virtue of competition have pushed other vendors to do the same. I can’t imagine Android based devices would be nearly as privacy focused today if it weren’t for users moving to the Apple ecosystem in search of better security.
With Apple it’s just easier and I can focus on other areas of life and just use my phone as the tool it is rather than spending untold hours making everything work.
Truth be told there was a time in my life when I actually enjoyed fiddling with that but I got my fill and am on to other priorities. There is only so much time in the day.
Making exceptions like installing the Aurora Store or microG, defeat the point of a degoogled phone.
iOS can’t be hardened it to a 0 telemetry state like GrapheneOS, but it is a fully featured OS.
It strikes the right balance for general consumers, and prosumers like myself.