When RPi initially released it's was was fully proprietary with only open source library that talked to the driver. Most of code and OpenGL ES implementation itself simply run outside of Linux on specialized core.
I suppose it's part of the same blob that manage both bootloader startup, display control, etc. RPi SoC built the way when GPU initialized before everything else and manage the boot process.
Then they released source for the actual OES implementationm but since it's run on core with limited capabilities it's hard to improve it much. Shortly after Broadcom hired Eric Anholt to work open source kernel driver and Mesa-based GL implementation that will actually run on Linux.
The problem is that their documentation contains only selected information and every time the community needs information about some other part they have to beg Broadcom for information. Most often the request was denied.
So here we are, with a partially functioning linux on an overheating pi3 that no one knows how to fix.
At least in europe there was an LTE version that had an SD-card slot, an actual compass and gyroscope and the eponymous LTE support. My girlfriend still uses it and is a really nice phone (except for the, by now, ridiculously bad camera).
I am in Europe, and bought mine from a European Amazon, but no SD-card. I still use it, and yeah the camera is definitely quite far behind. I'll probably go for a Xiaomi soon.
There could be some lag involved. The children of 3 decades ago are now having their own children and are deciding their freedoms. I think crime was lower in the US 6 decades ago than 3, so each generation may be reacting slowly to a perceived level of danger.
I think one of the issues now is that there are many more homes with two working parents. It was one thing 30 years ago to let your kids walk to school, wander around the neighborhood, or whatever, if a parent was at home. But without that safety net, I can see why it's a psychologically challenging attitude for parents. (besides the whole media focus on crime exacerbating things).
(I was born in 1977 and walked or rode my bike to school until 4th grade, when I switched schools. I also had a mom who's rule was "go outside and play. come in for dinner when the street lights turn on." I think this was common across the US until the '90s, especially outside of major metros.
The support contracts on these tools runs into huge figures, there can be 100s of engineers keeping a small number in production. Each sale is essentially a huge contract, not a one-time payment.
You also need to allow for failure conditions. If a power tube fails as a short or low impedance, which will vaporise first: your thin tracks, or your fuse?
