"Personally dislike Apple, promotes a superficial understanding of tech and makes doing things in a way other than the OFFICIALLY APPROVED METHOD either convoluted or impossible."
Some people prefer the simplicity and ease of use provided by Apple devices. I've used other platforms but much prefer my Mac and iPhone. It rarely causes me any problems and I don't plan on using anything else. I don't care in the least about the "officially approved method". My Apple gear works perfectly every time and does what I want it to do without any issues.
Regarding the problem you described with sending texts or photos via WiFi in Europe, I've also had problems with that. Even though I now have access to cellular data, I often leave it switched off unless needed, so as not to exceed my data limit. With data off I've noticed that texts don't seem to send properly at times, although they appear to send. When I was using an old Motorola flip phone texts seemed to work every time.
On trips over the last few years, I've found that it helps to switch data "on" periodically during the day and I often receive texts that were sent many hours previously. I haven't yet figured out why this is occurring, but hope to narrow this down on a future trip.
Sent from my iPhone