No it's not! The parent listed other phones as options, not "do without a phone".
Following your weird examples the parent's comment is like saying you don't have to buy a *Ford* car, or a *Carrier* AC. There are many more car and AC options if you don't like Ford or Carrier.
They also listed the Pinephone, which had no facility to do most of those things. It's either Apple or Android, and both of these are making it harder and harder over time to run your own software stack.
Following your weird examples the parent's comment is like saying you don't have to buy a *Ford* car, or a *Carrier* AC. There are many more car and AC options if you don't like Ford or Carrier.