I don't get ads on iOS, macOS or iPadOS. Literally none.
The only revenue stream they have in that space is in-app ads (I don't have any of those apps) and the app store, which is basically an advertising portal to find tools so I expect it there.
Google and Microsoft shovel it down you and bug you constantly about upsells and third party trash.
Every time I search on my wife's iPhone for some specific application in the App Store the first result is an add for a competitor's app. How is that 'expected'?
I use my desktop and perform searches every day. I am constantly nagged with targeted ads and bulk promotions when doing so on Windows and when using Google.
I search for apps in the App Store once every few months. Perhaps others do it once or twice a week if they like exploring and trying new apps.
Does that not seem qualitatively different to you? Even if Apple makes some revenue as a result of advertising inside their fully segregated marketplaces, it's hard to think that those ads are a big part of one's experience with Apple.
"Let’s begin with the current state of play: Apple’s advertising efforts today consist of display ads inside of its News and Stocks apps, as well as inside the App Store, across the iPhone, iPad and Mac. The App Store also has Google-like search ads. And more recently, Apple put advertising inside of TV+ for its “Friday Night Baseball” deal with Major League Baseball."
Yeah I don't get any either. I also don't think they're selling your data (or if they are, they're very bad at it) because my targeted ads don't reflect my activity on their OS...
Unlike my android phone. My youtube ads change noticeably in response to whatever I've recently googled, it's very unsettling how dialed in they are.
My daily driver is Linux though. I do agree that's what you should be using if you want to be free of these dystopian shenanigans.
I could see a Linux or a BSD, but Apple is also just another advertiser spying on you here.