I explained this to another user. It’s not “I can just download apps from Apple’s App Store”. It’s everything that comes along with that.

Also you can just buy a different phone if you want third-party stores.

I really don’t get how people on a tech forum seem to believe that software is fungible. If I’m an Instagram user then I have to go to where it’s offered which will be the Meta store. As a user I can’t just download it on the App Store if it isn’t there. All of this legislation has been about publisher choice. Users do not not gain any choice in this — that’s all marketing.