Really? I have a folder on my iPhone three pages deep called “apple junk” which is nothing but all the apple pre installed bloat apps that I never use.
Do some people find a use case for them? Sure. But there they are on my phone. Pre installed and just taking up space..
I'd probably buy an iPhone if it cost like $300 and didn't have all the bells and whistles. Not because I can't afford one. I just can't see myself spending $1000 on a device where the main use case is communication via WhatsApp.
The iPhone SE came out at $400, and dropped to less than $200 (locked) a couple of years ago.
Currently the cheapest iPhone here is the iPhone 8 4.7'' and it costs about $550 USD.
Not sure about yours but mine spams me to sign up for Apple Music every month, came bundled with GarageBand etc and bugs me about creating a Memoji, spams up my messaging app/emoji tray with animojis etc.
The days of iOS being the restrained stoic only what you need OS are over because marketing needs to push features to sell handsets and services.
It's basically an example of how Apples strategy with tight grip on their platform makes so much sense. iPhone owners don't have to worry about any of that. Generally phones are supported way longer and updates available even for older phones.