N1b If you want to fully embrace the journey, you probably want to save up some money for a Macbook, iPods, an Apple watch etc
Just a self-correction, I meant AirPods, not iPods (these are probably not necessary for most use cases :D).
brn I think the main thing that hasn't been discussed here that is highly relevant is that with everything under one account/ecosystem (Apple) vs many (for VPN, Email, Photos, etc.) is control (or ownership)
Good point, and it's not just control but also compartmentalization. I feel much better knowing that the data I share are spread over many services. This can be emulated on iOS to the same degree as on Pixel OS, but I assume most people go with everything Apple for convenience, design and interoperability. So your contacts, location, internet usage, health data and behavioural patterns from apps are all stored in one place that Apple controls, and you have to trust Apple to never ever abuse that power, even decades into the future.
GOS will give you compartmentalization by default since you need to set it up yourself and having everything (or anything) Google is only one option among many. It's less convenient for sure, and many threat models will be just fine with iOS or Pixel OS.