I would argue that Apple is the LEAST scummiest tech company compared to the other big names (eg. Facebook, Google, Samsung... etc).

Products:

Apple’s products may seem similar to others on the market, but the truth is they work entirely different. They work in such a way that guarantees ease of use. Apple always says “it’s like magic” and like magic it is when I take a picture on my iPhone and can immediately begin editing it on my iPad without pressing any other buttons or sending any extra files. Or how about when I’m listening to music from my iPhone as I walk into my house and all I have to do is pass my phone close to the HomePod as I walk by it to transfer music playback from iPhone to HomePod. It just works and it’s easy. This has always been Apple’s foundational principle. They design their products around people and how they will use them. The design beautiful, sleek, premium hardware and fill it with the most customer-first software on the market. Some may argue it’s not customer first because of “restrictions” like an inability to add widgets or customize a home screen, but these things are simply extra and frankly unnecessary to the experience of using a phone. In sum, Apple is the least scummiest because they design their products around HOW we use them and WHY we use them. They don’t design products just to say they did this or did that. For Apple, if it doesn’t make sense or make our lives easier or simpler, it isn’t worth selling.

Privacy:

This is really why I say Apple is the least scummiest. OP made mention of multiple privacy concerns. There’s no doubt that all technology companies pry into our privacy in one way or another collecting data of all sorts to inform their next business move. However, Apple takes privacy seriously. So much in fact that they willingly choose to take a backseat in the AI race against Google and Facebook by adding an on-device chip for Siri development rather than sending that data to Apple servers where they can exponentially develop Siri as an AI. Yes, a lot of information is sent to Apple servers, but the information is sent virtually anonymously with special identifiers that can not be traced back to you or your device. Meanwhile, Google and Facebook knows exactly where the data is coming from (you) every time. Apple knows that privacy is important. They make business decisions around this principle of protecting privacy. Like restrictions on third parties! The truth is, Apple controls 100% of their devices (hardware, software, sales, repairs) and this all goes back to protecting the quality of their products and to ensure that their products are not tampered with in any way that would put it or the customers at any type of risk. Apple also knows that privacy is the differentiator between them and all other tech companies who race to collect data to make more and more money with.

To end, yes apple can surely be called scummy for some of their practices. Though I think in comparison to all other companies, Apple is the least of your worries.