alt Hacker NewsWell, they might still do it but less aggressively. For example, only when using MS Store or only some specific services. Apple uses a similar strategy with MacOS. Online accounts can also be convenient with with service integrations, provided they are optional. Also, I slightly disagree that average users don't care at all. Even setting aside ideological reasons, mandatory online accounts are terrible if there is no internet or the system must be preinstalled for another person (although the person who installs is not that average user). The system should be functional in offline mode.
To download apps on an iphone, you need an apple id. This is just something every apple user has accepted since its inception. I would also be surprised if the majority of macOS/OSX users didn't have an apple id/icloud account.
This is not a new concept. What's new is that microsoft is enforcing it. But making it less obvious on how to disable the requirement when you install the OS. Or in most cases require hacks to do so.