as a dev ->This is pretty great - no more having to support users who refuse to update apps/are using some hacked version of your app in order to access older APIs you're supporting for older versions of apps. I envision this settling into a LTS version and rapidly updating(or even beta) versioning system - which large app devs like whatsapp already do.

as a user ->i already switch to an app's beta ASAP, this makes doing that unnecessary(if the dev is smart about it and doesn't just force updates for monetisation)

People complaining are forgetting that apps aren't applications - they're small and easily forgotten/uninstalled unless they come up with something new and exciting - which right now is locked behind a clunky visit to the clunky play store. Apps controlling updates isn't me having less control - i always have the power to uninstall an app if it gets irritating about updates. The new feedback/rating system means that apps that mess this up will plummet rapider than before in the play store too!This feedback loop gives me more insight as a user into a devs practices vs before just hoping a popular app was decent about updates.

Google files explorer even encourages you to uninstall apps you don't use for a long time to save space - which (anecdotally) finally led me to nuking all adobe products from my phone and life and switching to arguably better paid app alternatives for mobile.