Originally Posted by
HDQDD
I'm sure Apple blocks services in regions that require it too. Apple Pay is not available in many countries. Neither is Apple "Intelligence". Apple blocks far more functionality than google. Much of it is features they had previously and later removed. Off the top of my head: raw GPS data, the ability to spoof location, deep battery metrics (removed), cellular signal metrics, ability to modify cellular settings* (even field test mode was removed circa iOS11), ability to even view current (cell) signal strength (removed), hotspot while on wifi (<-- this one is unforgivable IMO), sharing VPN over said hotspot...etc, etc. All of these functions are available on Android without rooting. I'm sure there are many more.
Apple blocks a lot of stuff they shouldn't--raw GPS data and the ability to move data over Bluetooth (eg to an OBD2 box) come to mind.
But they don't break things that were already working: I bought lunch in India with Apple Pay today. It's "not available" in India because no Indian banks support it, but all my American and German cards work just fine. Android used to be the same, but as of about a year ago Google hides the interface when your phone thinks it's in India. Google used to be really good about "this feature is not supported in $country.... but we're not going to stop you from trying" but they seem to have changed tactics for some reason. See also 5G support on the Pixel phones and Android Auto, which has started to disable itself if your SIM is from an unsupported country no matter where you're actually driving.
In any case, this doesn't need to be a Coke vs Pepsi, er, iOS vs Android debate. For the OP's use case of a phone that will work seamlessly in North America and Europe, they're better off with an iPhone or Pixel than most other phones. Neither Apple nor Google gets too aggressive about geoblocking in either region.