While true (and indeed so generalisable that one can say this of e.g. two-party politics), there are phones which ship with other app stores (Samsung's Galaxy Store).

Also: so far as I can tell the specific apps you need to get through life are themselves not monetised via the app store — e.g. banking apps, healthcare, and (as I read it) items bought within but not used within apps (such as groceries or travel passes) would not be subject to any commission from Apple.