The Car Analogy
Imagine buying a car at full price. You hold the title, you made every payment, but the manufacturer dictates the following:
- Fuel: You can only buy gasoline from the manufacturer's branded stations. Independent gas stations exist and might be cheaper or better, but your car's engine is programmed to reject their fuel.
- Passengers: The manufacturer decides who is allowed to sit in your car. If they disapprove of a passenger for any reason, the doors literally won't unlock for that person.
- Mechanics: Only manufacturer approved repair shops can work on your car. If an independent mechanic opens the hood, a warning light permanently illuminates on your dashboard, certain features stop working, and your warranty is void.
- Roads: Certain roads are blocked. The manufacturer has decided those routes are "unsafe" or "not in line with their guidelines," even if they're perfectly legal public roads you have every right to drive on.
- Modifications: You want to add a roof rack, change the stereo, or install a dashcam? Only accessories from the manufacturer's own store are compatible. Third-party accessories, even superior ones, are electronically rejected.
The Home Analogy
You buy a house outright. But the builder retains a set of master keys and enforces the following rules:
- You can only buy furniture from the builder's catalog. If you try to bring in an unapproved couch, the front door won't open.
The builder can enter your home at any time to "update" your layout, sometimes removing a room you liked or changing how the light switches work, without asking. - If you want to install a new faucet, only the builder's licensed plumbers are allowed. A fully qualified independent plumber is turned away at the door.
- Want to rent out a room? The builder takes 30% of the rent, every month, forever, simply because they built the house.
- If you try to change the locks to keep the builder out, they call it a "security violation" and void every warranty and protection plan on the house.
The Library
You buy an ebook reader at full retail price. But:
- You can only purchase books from the manufacturer's bookstore. Other bookstores exist with the same titles, sometimes cheaper, sometimes with books the manufacturer has banned, but the device refuses to open them.
- The manufacturer can remove books from your device remotely. (Amazon actually did this — ironically, with 1984.)
- If an author writes something the manufacturer finds objectionable, the book is simply unavailable on your device. Not illegal. Not harmful. Just disapproved of.
- The manufacturer decides what categories of literature you're allowed to read on hardware you paid for.
Apple Claims:
- "We review apps for your safety"
- That is only partially true. Apple blocks apps that compete with its own services (screen time apps, email clients, browser engines, etc.)
- "The App Store protects you from malware"
- Even though they do check for malware they take a 15–30% commission on every transaction. It is more a toll booth than a security gate. They even charge developers who wish to distribute completely free apps!
- "We restrict sideloading non-store apps to prevent harm"
- Users lose the ability to install legal, functional, safe software that Apple simply doesn't approve of
When you buy an iOS device, Apple acts as if you just purchased a license to use the device according to their terms.
True ownership means one can install what he wants, repair where he wants, modify as he wants, and accept his own risks.
But Apple insists even though you possess the hardware, they retain functional control over the software, the ecosystem, the repair pipeline, and the marketplace — indefinitely.
You buy the car, but Apple holds the keys.
The entire Apple ecosystem revolves around control under the guise of security. Many accept it, and that is their prerogative, but I do not, and that is why Bible Analyzer will never be in any Apple App Store.