@mdrockwell My complaint against the Android app system, which has always allowed side loading, is that the quality of apps is just abysmal. For all its faults, the QC of having to submit an app to Apple for approval guarantees (sort of) that apps have a starting line much further down the road than where most Android apps finish.
That’s largely an aesthetic argument, though, and I do see how allowing side loading would be helpful. It could be helpful for Apple, too. Devs who want the exposure the App Store brings could be willing to pay Apple’s commission and devs that are willing to take on their own marketing could cut their costs.