then you switch provider, it's not a monopoly

If that happens you can still buy hardware later with almost certainly more (tok/s)/$ and better capabilities to run newer models more efficiently (remember native MXFP4?). Right now basically every generation of accelerator is adding new capabilities. These aren't yearly DirectX 9.0c-compatible GPU performance bumps.

As an individual, for average privacy needs (e.g. open source or at-home coding and automation), it's pretty much complete nonsense financially to self-host LLMs currently or select hardware now based on the capability to do so, and pay thousands of bucks extra.

Instead of saying "I have a MBP with 64gb of RAM" you'll hear people say: "I'm subscribed to Model 9.x11B" and others will comment: "Oh dang, that's a nice model!"