Prior to the iPhone we were “standardized” on resistive touch screens, which sucked compared to the iPhone’s capacitive screen. Not because a stylus was a good way to use a portable device, and not because capacitive touch screen technology was unknown - it was invented long ago. It’s because of cost. You’re just conflating standardization with cost cutting.

If there was a cheap and easy to install OS in that era they’d all use it. Oh wait that was DOS & Windows, that was the whole point, that’s what happened, it was adopted because 999/1,000 vendors are interested in cost cutting not innovation.

It’s hard to celebrate cost cutters. History never celebrates the crummy cost cutters. I feel no nostalgia for that.