[5e92cb50239222b]

Let's not conflate hardware with software. The first one is practically impossible to modify for a completely different reason than the second one (physical limitations and the need for specialized hardware that costs serious money vs artificial limitations imposed by developers). You can at least repair it (unless you bought into the Apple ecosystem — you knew what you were getting into then), and a relative of mine makes good living doing just that.

[arp242]

Firmware is inextricable tied to hardware; you could pretty much say it is hardware. Hardware has had "software" in it for decades and no one complains about it either, except when this software is loaded in a particular fashion.