Browsers might as well be an OS of sorts the way people use and interact with them.
Of course, mobile OSes and OSes in general have become active and oriented to filtering input as well as generating inputs. This creep is everywhere - MS Windows displaying adds and flogging it's "app store" is one notably noxious example.
I guess an everything app would be different in that its maker probably goes like "Open-ended set of programs? Who cares, you nerd, I'm just gonna make deals."
Not similar. Significantly lower. In fact, it’s not even number one because Android is a lot less popular in the US.
On one major platform, there is Chrome by default (so even bigger market share issues). People can install other browsers, but far fewer do than even on desktop. For those that do, most use the Play Store which has some conflict of interest concerns.
On the other platform it's even worse. The only option is Safari and the conflict of interest is fully realized because other browsers aren't even allowed on the App Store
At one point Samsung came with both Samsung Browser (chromium based) and Chrome preinstalled, but I'm not sure if that's changed in recent years.
Chrome dominates because it's better. People install it.
This is such a persistent myth on HN - I think I read it at least once a week - usually on one of the many alternative browsers, plenty of which are available on the AppStore.
WebKit is the building block of browsers on iOS, but there are an extremely varied selection of browsers using it.
HTTP literally runs on the application layer, as do email, IRC , gopher and all the old internet. Nowhere in the word "Application" is it implied that some CEO controls what porn people can view.