There was a time back in covid days where you had to have an app on your phone to go through customs clearance in Canada.

You can exist, but life will be as inconvenient as it was in the 1990s (though importantly, it didn't seem inconvenient at the time, it was just the way things were).

> Nowadays, you can no longer exist in society without a phone.

millions of people would like a word…

> Most things will work but it takes one critical service that doesn't have a viable workaround, and you're forced to buy (and possibly carry) a "mainstream" phone just for that.

Absolutely not, if there is “critical service” that requires an iPhone or Android you call an attorney.

> Banking, government, authentication, postal service and public transit apps are just some of the common categories that will, in the end, force you to use one of those systems, unless governments mandate viable alternatives.

There are now and there always will be alternatives

> As an individual, it feels like my options are to either submit or try to live a hermit's life, bringing endless suffering and exclusion to myself.

As an individual you can and should fight any system that forces you into buying a smartphone. Alternatives must exist even if they might be “incovenient” (e.g. have to do it browser vs. via some “App”)

I'd wager the majority of people on this site could afford $100-$200 for a separate phone that's solely used for apps that mandate Google/Apple services. As a bonus, using the "mainstream" phone with only those apps increases security, compared to having your banking apps on the same phone as other random apps.

How about a second phone for the things you list?

> Nowadays, you can no longer exist in society without a phone

If my phone breaks, I will die? :)

Perhaps it's this spreading of this lie that it's impossible to live without a phone that is contributing to the problem

Bingo.. we will all need to pick which prison we walk ourselves in to: Google or Apple