Yeah, the whole "there is no alternative to the App Store" argument completely falls apart in the face of the existence of the Mac, and how the Mac isn't constrained by the Mac App Store.
It’s never been a serious target.
I think you know this.
https://www.howtogeek.com/281849/dont-be-fooled-the-mac-app-...
Fortunately iOS users don’t have those problems because of the security model that you are so quick to dismiss.
Hard to see how you think such links support your argument for dismissing the security model.
Also of note - the central App Store was used to fix these problems.
I do not view opening up the platform to third party stores or sideloading to be an excessive security risk, because having studied iOS's security model, it seems to be reasonably hardened (at least compared to Android) and I believe that Apple can manage the existence of other app sources well enough to prevent them from becoming significant malware vectors. The fact that those malware links are neither ransomware nor botnets proves how inherently secure iOS is, and thus protections are built into the operating system level, thus making the existence of third party stores irrelevant to its security.
This, I agree with.
> and/or open up the platform to third party stores, and thus competition
This I disagree with. As stated elsewhere, I simply don’t think security will be the basis for such competition because it relies on end users to be able to make that a priority over just running the apps they want.
I think if Apple is unable to maintain the security of the platform, competition is the answer, but in the form of other platforms, not Apple being forced to allow alternative stores.
One Tenth. Or 100M+ User with lots of room to grow.
I wouldn't use tiny to describe it, even in comparative sense.
Because that user base are worth more than per user than the others?