Apple users are losing millions. It's a scam even a high school kid could find out. But somehow Apple couldn't. Because it makes them money.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/21/22385859/apple-app-store-...
https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/21/22385859/apple-app-store-...
In fact YOU (well, I mean Apple) cannot have it both (other) ways. It's not fair to arbitrarily remove legitimate apps, lock down the devices, under the guise of user safety but in the end fail to actually provide the level of security at all that people now expect and paid the price of the device not being GP.
If Apple is so sure of their measures they should also cover (i.e. pay up) any damages when fraudulent or dangerous apps do make it to the store or are not removed in a timely fashion. The fees they siphon off from app revenue should probably go there.
The argument is rather that the AppStore is not secure at all, but a) we still cannot sideload apps and b) legitimate apps get kicked off for no good reason, etc.
The problem is false security and false expectations.
Arguably it's easier for a user today to accidentally download a scammy app from the app store than it would ever be to do when sideloading. The latter would always come with the expectation and warning that it's not vetted by anyone, so the user and/or community will invest the time to make sure the download is legitimate.
Negligence and simply the size of the Appstore is more likely at play.