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What if I like the iPad's hardware but want to run Android on it? Is Apple similarly obliged to make that possible? There's a slippery slope here when it comes to forcing manufacturers to offer choices to the consumer, particularly as politics inevitably get involved.

Disclosure: I work at Microsoft.

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Tablets, phones are expected to be bundled as they are expected to work out of the box, and were designed for that particular OS (the different model of ARM and friends in most cases).

Laptops, PCs are historically not, they are expected to be installed and customized, and were NOT designed for a particular OS, but work as "general purpose computing" (the universality of x86 in most cases).

There's no slippery slope, it's the customers want their general purpose device to be general.

This was a big reason why I disliked Chromebooks using different firmware. Why do you think firmware standards exist in the first place?

They should obviously be obliged to make it possible. It's sad that Apple isn't treated as harshly as Microsoft by the internet community and regulators.

Both deserve to be criticized for the same unethical practices. Android phone manufacturers may be the worst offenders of all.

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