This is a false choice - there's no reason the iPhone can't be both a walled garden-type device
and support alternative OSes/software, just like a computer.
We know because this exact strategy works just fine on Apple's other computer platform, the Mac. Personally, I hate that our phones, which increasingly are our personal computer, are often no longer just a general purpose compute device to use how I want, if i want.
The walled garden also relies enormously on Apple - a publicly traded for profit enterprise - being a benign benefactor, which to date has been (relatively) true. The future on a long timescale may not be so nice. Were this to change, you don't easily have a say in alternative software.
Why shouldn't you be able to install a linux distro and turn your old iPhone or iPad into a really power-efficient home server-type appliance, if you want to? My old MacBook is doing exactly this.
We know because this exact strategy works just fine on Apple's other computer platform, the Mac. Personally, I hate that our phones, which increasingly are our personal computer, are often no longer just a general purpose compute device to use how I want, if i want.
The walled garden also relies enormously on Apple - a publicly traded for profit enterprise - being a benign benefactor, which to date has been (relatively) true. The future on a long timescale may not be so nice. Were this to change, you don't easily have a say in alternative software.
Why shouldn't you be able to install a linux distro and turn your old iPhone or iPad into a really power-efficient home server-type appliance, if you want to? My old MacBook is doing exactly this.