Not really too sure if it’s a “Mac Thing”. Back in the 90s if a I wanted to develop apps for Windows then I needed to compile on a Windows machine. Back then, I had to shell out money for a Win 3.1 operating system. In the mid 90s, if you wanted to develop for RIM Blackberry, you had to shell out money for their dev tools and their BIS server. I believe it boils down to the tools you have and the choice you go with.
Today it is a different story. The thing about Mac is I can deploy for for iOS, Android, Linux, and using virtualization just about any device I wanted – including Windows. I believe choosing the tools that will give me the most reach is important. At this time, I can’t say the same thing about Windows. Maybe that will change. Web Assembly is looking really pretty right now as well.
However there are options. If you get a hold of a OSX iso, you can compile an iOS app with virtualization technology, some of which are free. There are also services that allow you to rent a Mac for an hour, a day, a week, a month(s) for a fraction of the cost of what you would pay for a used or brand new Mac. The reality is, if you can’t shell out $300 for a used Mac, then maybe the iOS app store is not for you or the ROI is not viable and I get that. You only really need it to compile just like I would have needed a Windows machine to create a Windows executable.
As for React and Facebook and the “Trust Thing”. I’m not familiar with your assertion about FB controlling the DOM, I will need some education on that.
My guess is you may be thinking of React.js vs React Native. React Native is open source and is specific to mobile and from what I can recall, it can be inspected if you really wanted. React and React Native share the same parent(s) in that it was created by a programmer who worked at Facebook. But from what I understand, he nor FB is controlling any behind the scenes DOM manipulation.
In the context of this forum, when I referred to React, I’m looking at React Native. My apologies if that wasn’t clear.