I get by alright without a smart phone. Over the years I’ve seen more and more “just scan this QR code to do such-and-such”, and I ignore them. I think you’re right that it is a lot of added friction compared to using a phone. A lot of stuff is instantly at your fingertips with your phone.
But to be honest, I really truly think that a bit of friction is a good thing. Without it, we just slide helplessly into oblivion. Or, less metaphorically speaking, the friction turns an automatic decision into a deliberate one. The friction pushes people to think about their actions and choices a little bit. And that’s generally a good thing - even if its a little bit harder.
Google is an enormous beast. It doesn’t care about you, or me, or the good of anyone. Sometimes its goals happen to align with a common good for awhile - and so good stuff can come from that. But often their goal do not, and they cause harm while crushing any possible alternative path. And as time goes on, less and less of what google does is for the common good.
For that reason, I think it is unwise to support google. Supporting them further entrenches their power, preventing others from contributing.
The smart engineers you spoke of would still be smart engineers with or without google. Google didn’t create them. They can still contribute with or without Google. But Google did direct their efforts to suit Google’s own needs. - Sometimes that’s also good for other people, but often it is not.