That might because many people (at least in the US) get their phones through payment plans with a cell service carrier, and those usually aren’t unlocked unless you pay for the whole phone + if they care enough to give you the code after.
I always bought unlocked phones directly, so I guess I never had that issue?
To be fair, unlockable bootloaders seem a bit exceptional on the Android side too…
That might because many people (at least in the US) get their phones through payment plans with a cell service carrier, and those usually aren’t unlocked unless you pay for the whole phone + if they care enough to give you the code after.
I always bought unlocked phones directly, so I guess I never had that issue?