What the author calls "double standard" could be reframed as "consumer choice." A vendor sells different devices. Some have provisions to make changes to the bootloader and some don't.
The phrase "have provisions to make changes" is on purpose. It has not yet been proven to me that a change to an iPad's bootloader function is impossible. It certainly isn't as easy as that of Mac, but the skill/effort required is a gradient.
This is similar to "soldered" storage. This was commonly thought of as impossible until it was demonstrated that a Mac will happily accept updated storage changed out with a hot air rework device. This method is certainly higher skill/effort/risk than remembering when to terminate 50pin SCSI, but shows that when a hacker has a will, there is a way.
Is it ironic that as computing devices become easier to use, they also require higher skill to fix and modify? No, more likely there is an iron rule that when a device's external complexity is contained, the inner workings of that thing become more complex. Complexity did not decrease but was hidden.
Does a grandfather clock and a tourbillon wristwatch encapsulate the same/similar general principles of timekeeping? Sure. If one has the skill to update parts of the grandfather clock, are those same skills sufficient for the wristwatch? Probably not. Should wristwatches be banned because people who update grandfather clocks do not have the skills to modify them? Surely not, that would be absurd.
Likewise, demanding root in a form you find acceptable is absurd. If you can't take root one a device you possess, it's a skill issue for you to address not the vendor.
The phrase "have provisions to make changes" is on purpose. It has not yet been proven to me that a change to an iPad's bootloader function is impossible. It certainly isn't as easy as that of Mac, but the skill/effort required is a gradient.
This is similar to "soldered" storage. This was commonly thought of as impossible until it was demonstrated that a Mac will happily accept updated storage changed out with a hot air rework device. This method is certainly higher skill/effort/risk than remembering when to terminate 50pin SCSI, but shows that when a hacker has a will, there is a way.
Is it ironic that as computing devices become easier to use, they also require higher skill to fix and modify? No, more likely there is an iron rule that when a device's external complexity is contained, the inner workings of that thing become more complex. Complexity did not decrease but was hidden.
Does a grandfather clock and a tourbillon wristwatch encapsulate the same/similar general principles of timekeeping? Sure. If one has the skill to update parts of the grandfather clock, are those same skills sufficient for the wristwatch? Probably not. Should wristwatches be banned because people who update grandfather clocks do not have the skills to modify them? Surely not, that would be absurd.
Likewise, demanding root in a form you find acceptable is absurd. If you can't take root one a device you possess, it's a skill issue for you to address not the vendor.