Play store allows basically anything (including obviously fake/scam/adware/spyware apps), there's nothing to be gained by doing this on Android, you'd lose an easy distribution mechanism that doesn't limit you, helps you gain victims and provides credibility - it's on top of Google then it must be good, right?

Also consider the market share of iOS and Android. Why bother for such small amount of price sensitive users?

iOS is another story entirely. The App Store has a lot of demands on the app developers wrt. UX, compatibility, etc; there's a lot of money to be saved (and faster time to market gained) by not publishing apps there. And then you can also bypass the security/privacy screening.

so you say there are no scam apps on appstore? Asking bc I've read a lot of articles abt scammy aps there and apple is doing nothing to kill these

Given that this scenario has happened on the PC side of things, where I now need to have a Steam store, Epic store, EA Store, Ubi store, and GOG store (it's optional — thanks GOG!), I'd say it's not as baseless.

And that's a good thing. Do you think the situation on Windows would be improved if Microsoft forced everyone to use their store?

There is competition amongst stores and people outright reject software that is exclusive to a store that they do not favor.

> people outright reject software that is exclusive to a store that they do not favor

That's a funny thing to tell to your kid that he's now an outcast in his school because everyone plays that Battlefield game — but his dad "does not favor" EA.