I understand that. Let us be adults and download apps that aren’t in the App Store. I can download any app on Mac so what exactly is their excuse except for being greedy and hindering innovation.

Just look at their segmented financial statements, Computers are a dying biz for them, and require that level of flexibility to have any users at all. Meanwhile their smartphone business is stable, With their fasting growing biz being app store & apple services such as news, music, tv. They're protecting their shareholders, not their fringe userbase who cares.