Excluding technical users, Google Play Services is the same. And their grip only tightens over time.

Fortnite is only available on Android via sideloading, and I don't expect that will slow down Epic Games much.

You don't have to be technical at all to sideload apps on Android. Enough people I know have done it in minutes following a very simple guide.

I dont see how you can make this claim when installing whatever you want on your android phone is as easy as tapping the setting for installing from unknown sources.

I just want to chime in with "yes and yes". Let's be sure not to fall into a false dichotomy about which brand of problem is a problem. :)

Google does a decent job w/ non-standard app stores. They have permissions that allow other apps to act as a trusted app store without opening the system up entirely.

I agree that Google Play Services is not competition friendly, but that is a different topic.

It's pretty true. Unless you manage to jailbreak your phone the only way to get it to run code (except for javascript) is by having, at some point up the chain, a certificate that's signed by Apple.

It's free to get one though, but it only lasts for a week or so. You can pay to become a developer and I think you get one that lasts a year instead.