I never understood this argument. Many products in the past have failed because they were too restrictive. Apple’s current suite of products are doing very well, so they must be doing right.

If you don’t like Apple’s approach or products, then don’t buy them and let the market decide. No company is under obligation to do business according to what you or I think is correct.

If you think the market for a good phone with open hardware is there, then by all means go ahead and build such a product. There is plenty of VC money these days.