That doesn't make me less upset that my chip has wasted potential artificially locked away.

Sometimes, how you treat your customers doesn't have to be unfair for it to make a negative impact on customer vibe/relations.

Tesla produced two identical cars that cost exactly the same to manufacture. They offered one at a cheaper price but with a restriction on the battery capacity. They sacrificed their product margin to offer customers a vehicle they wanted or could afford.

They also said "hey if you want the additional capacity you can pay the difference to unlock it."