On my last android device I didn't need root at all, but on my current one Google has gimped the OS so much that root access is the only way to have any kind of ownership of the device.

Even just the fact that Google's "backup" system (which does not handle app data the last time I checked) depends on the cloud, instead of iTunes that has been able to do a full system backup to your own computer for YEARS (in addition to icloud), is honestly a big joke in my eyes.

Everything that has happened since has only cemented my opinion that Android is not actually an open platform. I do see many of the changes as potentially valuable security measures for the masses, but I wish that it wasn't quite so difficult for a power user to use the power of the little computer we carry in our pockets.

I feel exactly the same way