Not OP, but here are just a few things I do currently on my Android (phones and tablets):

* Use (true) Firefox w/ extensions or other browsers

* Sideload apps that aren't available in the store (this is increasingly common with open source projects that don't want the headache of dealing with app stores)

* Install my own apps (which I increasingly vibe-code since I'm the only user) and not have to deal with paying Apple or reinstalling every few days or week or whatever

* Write bash and ruby scripts to automate things on my device which often require interacting with system APIs (tmux is my platform for this on Android currently)

* Pin versions of apps that have enshittified or sold to gross companies that harvest data or switch to subscriptions models by copying the APK and re-installing it on new devices

* Install alternate/experimental graphical shells that are frequently innovative and interesting (though rarely useful in the long-term, but it's still fun)

* Option to use other ROMs such as Graphene OS

* Capture packets and proxy traffic to see what my device is doing (this has gotten pretty hard on Android now, but still something I want to do)

* Have an on-device fine-grained firewall to tightly control which apps are allowed network access

There are definitely other things I can't think of at the moment, but I'm not sure why you're being so hostile to GP. Saying that iOS devices are locked down and can't do a lot of stuff doesn't seem like a very controversial opinion, especially on HN.