That’s not true at all, just don’t buy through Apple/Google, buy off their website. Apps charge extra for IAP (vs online) all the time, I have no clue what you are talking about.

I’m confused, my M1 MBP had like 1-2 things max that were x86 still that I needed and those ran fine on Rosetta.

I know docker is a bit more annoying but it’s not that bad IMHO.