Usually vendor lock-in actually amounts to "smart and well paid people think of clever, evil, but technically legal ways to make it as difficult as possible to leave the ecosystem".
It's not just the work. Money is a factor too. Accessories as well. The Apple Watch needs an iPhone to work for example, dongles, cables, software. Even stuff that works on multiple platforms may not work as well or be limited on others (e.g. Airpods) so you have to decide is it worth switching to lose X and gain Y?
I think a lot of people don't care once they switch, but thinking about switching, the costs etc. makes it seem daunting and not worth it.
> so you have to decide is it worth switching to lose X and gain Y?
Still sounds like the lock-in is “be more appealing in some ways”.
Everything is a trade off. Life is tough that way, always forcing you to make decisions, or wait until you can afford to do things before you do them, but at this point we’re talking about luxury goods.
Having your watch become a paper weight if you switch phone platforms is not "be more appealing in some ways". Having your router become unmanageable if you switch phone platforms is not "be more appealing in some ways". Having to buy entirely new cables and dongles that do exactly the same thing essentially as your current cables and dongles is not "be more appealing in some ways". Having to find and possibly buy (or subscribe) either the same or similar software/services again to what you need is not "be more appealing in some ways".
Mobile platforms specifically iOS and Android have moved beyond luxury goods. Way too much shit relies on an iOS or Android app. They are even talking about making vaccine "passports" digital only.
It’s some work, it isn’t that much work. You would be surprised at all the things people don’t care if they lose.