> I want to be able to talk to my family, but I don't want to buy an iPhone

How were you not able to do this without an iPhone?

iMessage being a closed ecosystem. Apple finally added RCS support, but only after regulatory pressure.

To not recognise this as a limitation is to be wilfully blind to network effects. The "green bubbles" issue was a huge issue in the US. Similarly, WhatsApp not being open is a huge problem in forcing people onto Meta's platforms.