You get asked when you install the app but nobody looks at that huge list of permissions, especially if not accepting means you don't get to use the app

There's a huge difference between apps being able to do stuff without ever asking permission and apps asking permission but users choosing to ignore it and just say yes to everything.

While I agree with permission overload at install time, users pay more attention when permission prompts come up one at a time at first-use. It also gives the app a reason to stagger in permissions only when the feature is used, lest the user loses interest and drops off.