No surprises here. Just like the lockdown on iPhone screen and part replacements, Macbooks suffer from the same Apple’s anti-repair and anti-consumer bullshit. Battery glued, ssd soldered in and can’t even swap parts with other official parts. 6000$ laptop and you don’t even own it.
You, correct, if you need to develop for iOS or something Apple related you’ll need the appropriate hardware and software.
Which brings us back to my original point don’t buy Apple products.