This is because apple feels its too easy to trick users into elevating software permissions - which in turn may cause risks and harms to their user base.
Let me ask you - do you have your elderly parents on an android? Then you will know already how totally owned those phones can become.
If you require the user to hook into iTunes/Xcode, flip the device into recovery mode, click a few buttons, and agree to a "You're hecked if you break it now" policy, it'll be enough to scare off 99.9% of people from getting owned. After that, just have it work like the current profiles/supervision system where Settings makes it clear that non-verified code is running and has a big "make it go away!" button (sideloaded IPAs show up in profiles with a delete app button, and that works well enough except for the time limit).
I don’t really agree to this, the end result is going to be a large number of YouTube tutorials instructing people on how to do this with captions like: watch free movies on iPhone, “popular mobile game” money hack, and Snapchat take screenshots without notifying hack.
Half of these developer / root mode required secrets are going to be occasionally working mods and tweaks except with tons of baked in spyware and ads that can no longer easily be removed.
Perhaps some sort of per device profile which requires a paid developer account could work, but I’ve gotten a number of odd calls about YouTube videos involving Kodi from family before, so I’m not sure trusting in the give users freedom front.
This proves exactly the point made above of Apple not trusting the user.
However if someone wants to be an idiot, how far do you go to stop them? Apple's approach stops too many great possibilities for knowledgeable users. It should be in the same category as those "will it blend" types. Screw it up? No warranty.
For me there's several things I need it that are impossible because Apple won't allow them, so I have to use Android. But that's comes infected with Google spyware out of the box :(
I think Apple point is that users that need being protected from themselves without even realizing it are far more than those who might get a benefit from root without getting burnt. Since the two things can’t exist at the same time, they’re going for the road that makes the majority happy.
> This is because apple feels its too easy to trick users into elevating software permissions
Great, which is why I think offering a separate SKU to people who want control over their devices would be a wonderful compromise. Your parents can buy the normal locked-down iPhone that's sold in the Apple Store, and I'll buy the special one from the hidden page on Apple's website.
If you don’t mind, here’s a comment I wrote recently that I think is very relevant and I figured it just be easier to link to rather than retype: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23784763
> Strange key combinations that lead to scary text and wiping the device seem to be fairly effective in keeping out people who cannot give informed consent.
Not in my experience and certainly not evidenced by all the YouTube videos advocating disabling this or that security feature for questionable gain, including ones with scary text and/or strange key combinations.
Let me ask you - do you have your elderly parents on an android? Then you will know already how totally owned those phones can become.