I would argue that there was more than a duopoly. We had Windows Phone, WebOS, blackberry, Palm etc. The market voted and we're left with 2.

Equally, pretty much no iPhone user (outside of tech circles) cares about the App Store monopoly for iPhone. The policy is well known, and hasn't changed in 15 years.

Indeed many (not all) tech folk who complain about the App Store still went out and bought an iPhone.

The raw truth is that the market did decide. And no we don't need regulation. Apple and Google have different enough policies for there to be choice. In some countries Android has dominant market share.

Whatever may or may not have happened in the past is not especially relevant. Today it's essentially impossible to enter the market as you will need to develop a solid iOS or Android compatibility layer, because the best phone in the world is useless without software (apps) you want to run. This is also a major reason several of those platform you mentioned didn't work out by the way.

Sailfish OS does exactly that, but it has a number of limitations and added friction due to legal and technical reasons.

And choosing between two systems is really not much of a "choice". Right now there is a story on the front page about Android app requiring devs to validate their ID, even for side-loaded apps.

> The market voted and we're left with 2.

It's a matter of multiple independent legal decisions at this point that both of these companies have engaged in repeated, sustained, illegal anti-competitive behaviors, so the extent to which there was a "market" that voted is highly arguable.

I only use my smartphone for the basics. I want the tightly controlled app store hence I buy iPhone. I don’t want apps to be able to roll third party subscription and payment options because they will inevitably abuse it at the cost of less savvy users.

Epic Games is a developer and publisher making billions off tricking children into paying for worthless virtual goods. Fuck ‘em if they can’t make a living with the 30% Apple cut.