It's a shame we let ourselves get to this point where creativity is limited by the walled gardens we've almost fully accepted as "worth it".
iPads are great for specific things, as are phones, as are laptops/desktops.
Plenty of creators in the walled garden.
I am not talking about businesses selling apps to end users for gain, I am talking about people tinkering, making one off digital art projects, etc. The tinkerers I know want to just side load their apps and that's easier in less walled gardens.