It’s obviously not an example for this, otherwise Epic would have just made an Android store and moved on.
The only thing that Android doesn't allow is for the third-party stores to auto-update apps installed through those stores.
I'm not going to say that's not a big deal, because it's definitely annoying, but I have F-Droid on my phone and get plenty of value out of it, despite having to go through a confirmation dialog to update the apps I've installed through it.
> ... and is also not the market leader
Which is entirely irrelevant. (And if you consider the world market, not just the US, Android definitely is the market leader.)
If it was irrelevant, Epic would have just created an Android store and let Apple go their own way.
https://www.xda-developers.com/android-12-alternative-app-st...
Don't change the goal posts. Apple doesn't provide anything. Having to pass through a dialogue after download t confirm install isn't ideal, but possible is better than not.
> and is also not the market leader.
Android is at 45% and apple is at 55%.[1] Is your contention that a least of that amount is sufficient such that it actually changes this in some way? If so, how do you square that with Android's worldwide market share being reported as 72% in 2020?[2]
1: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/north-amer...
2: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide/...
It’s not just a dialog box. Alternate stores can’t provide automatic updates, which is a critical feature.
You are the one changing the goalposts here. Android alternative stores are not representative of what would happen because they are not the same, either technically, or in terms of market value.
Why would you assume this would happen on iOS when it hasn't happened on Android, when the suggestion is to do what Android already allows, and yet we don't see this on Android?