AlanZ you're right, prices are not an argument here and I'm sure people getting into the Apple eco system are aware of the walled garden fees and all. A fair comparison (with Google-branded hardware only) would end up in similar pricing.
My main point remains the lack of control and privacy (towards Apple and their partners) on iOS. If this is worth trading for the (perceived) convenience and ease of use compared to GrapheneOS, iOS will be the better choice.
Given that most of us are here because we put security and privacy very high on our priority list, I don't wonder most people (me included) would never consider to leave GrapheneOS for iOS, but a lot of people out there might be okay with the tradeoffs.
The most important thing is education, which is where most people fall for Apple's privacy theater campaigns instead of reading their actual TOU and research how iOS collects and processes user data. It easily exposes them as the same data hungry big tech company like Google and Facebook. If you're not okay with giving Google your data, I see no reason to be okay with Apple instead.