The two options are reach over all else, or control of its customers and overcharging them at every turn over all else.
One is not obviously better than the other, though I'll grant that Apple has managed to get their users to a place where being subjected to them has become a point of pride, which is impressive.
If we look iphone versus the direct google phones, both are quite expensive and at this point google's about $800/TB for storage upgrades is actually worse than apple's price.
Yes the Pixel phones are just as unaffordable as iPhones in this case, you're right! Google and Apple are the same here. If you want an inexpensive phone you must look for an Android phone that is not made by Google.
