It's a race to the bottom - or the top depending on how you look at it. Unless right to repair laws cripple their attempts, companies like John Deere will be able to use their lock in to wring ever more revenue out of their customers. That extra revenue, even if marginal in the grand scheme of things, will drive improvements in their hardware and software that competitors will have to match, most often by implementing the same tactics as John Deere (why not, when JD has already proved them? an MBA will say). Agriculture is already an industry forever on the razor's edge so any short term competitive advantage in yield or even up front capital cost will rapidly outweigh any medium to long term maintenance issue for farmers that live from loan to loan.
Just look at how fast the industry flipped over from dumb TVs to smart TVs, a similarly competitive and low margin market. I haven't been able to find a dumb TV at a big box store in years and the only options left are for commercial signage displays that command a large premium - largely made by the same brands that make the smart TVs.
I have a Pinephone myself but Android and iOS have already sucked all the oxygen out of the room - it's still nowhere near ready to be a daily driver and it's a decade plus late to the party. I got a small open source 3G cell tower for development years before the Pinephone even hit the drawing board.
That's just making their argument for them. What is the argument in favor of them making unlocked devices? Can it be done while increasing their profits?
Just look at how fast the industry flipped over from dumb TVs to smart TVs, a similarly competitive and low margin market. I haven't been able to find a dumb TV at a big box store in years and the only options left are for commercial signage displays that command a large premium - largely made by the same brands that make the smart TVs.
I have a Pinephone myself but Android and iOS have already sucked all the oxygen out of the room - it's still nowhere near ready to be a daily driver and it's a decade plus late to the party. I got a small open source 3G cell tower for development years before the Pinephone even hit the drawing board.