I’ve said on a few occasions when this subject came up about them closing off the ability to install whatever you want - the only reason Android has been what it is until now is because they needed an “in” to compete against iOS and Windows. Gaining a foothold was the priority, but now that they’re huge they can do what they’ve always wanted, to follow Apple’s example of mandatory middle-man.
It’s sickening. What people need to do is only buy second-hand and use devices that can be ROM-ed. I have a couple dozen that I tinker with and test stuff on. I also buy older models, put custom ROMs and Recovery and then sell them at a small premium, but I digress.
There’s only one way to get what you want as a consumer: unite and don’t buy.