I’m not using my US number at the moment, but I don’t want to lose it. I don’t want to continue paying Verizon $80/month for no reason. What’s the cheapest way to keep my US number? I will only need it from time to time to login to certain apps/websites that verify via text message. I am able to connect to WiFi, but obviously the number needs to remain active in order to receive the text message.
While Apple does try to lock you into their ecosystem, Apple has nothing to do with an iPhone being locked. The same thing for your Pixel being unlocked from the get go. Phones are locked by the carrier (Verizon, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Orange, etc), not the manufacturer (Apple, Google, Samsung, Huawei, etc).