That’s a pretty silly thing to say [1] and a non-argument. Whether or not you’ve personally heard about security problems with android doesn’t mean they don’t exist or aren’t widely known to others.
[1] https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list.php?vendor_id=...
It should also be noted that the #1 vector for malware installation on Android is the Play Store itself[3].
The issue isn't Apple or Google's mobile app distribution implementations themselves. The issue is that the app store model was only adopted because of its profitability, and security was an afterthought. Despite this, the companies' PR departments try to paint the app store model as necessary for "security" and then fall short of actually securing things because that might cost money or decrease revenue. There's no competition, so who is going to stop them or force them to improve?
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2020/05/14/zerodium_ios_flaws/
[2] http://zerodium.com/program.html
[3] https://www.zdnet.com/article/play-store-identified-as-main-...
On the other hand if your iPhone is vulnerable it will get an update. Can you say the same thing about Android?
[0] https://www.appbrain.com/stats/top-manufacturers
[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/271496/global-market-sha...
[2] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/02/samsung-now-updates-...
That’s a big deal because their manufacturing last years model S20 and many people are buying not realizing it’s apparently got 1.5 years of full support remaining.
Samsung's support pledge isn't perfect but it is an improvement that will hopefully lead to other Android OEMs stepping up their game.