There are steps to go through for android too. The original comment about deployment is false, and doesn't make any distinction about one time setup.
> That's also because deploying an APK on a test device (or several devices) is way easier than deploying an IPA on an iOS device.
False.
> it's easy to push the APK to my phone as part of the build process, and I don't even have to plug my device in to do so.
Also true of iOS.
If you want to make the case that enrolling in the developer program is a hassle, that's fine, but it's misleading to make it sound as though that is part of the build process.