I'm curious how quickly that trend will reverse when Google fulfills their promise to lock down sideloading on android.

Samsung makes nice hardware, but their bloatware is infuriating. I spend a lot of time on every new device, using ADB to purge as many samsung apps as I can. I'm getting tired of doing it.

Once I can't sideload anymore on android, my next phone will be an iphone.

The trend, if there is one, will be effected in no measurable way when a few nerds bail because they can't remove Samsung's browser.

By the way, outside of core phone features like Phone (dialer,) Settings, Camera, etc. you can disable or uninstall everything else without sideloading anything.

Very, very, very few consumers even know what sideloading is

Unfortunately, very few people care about sideloading.

And for those who do, Apple has been blocking sideloading for years.

The actual solution is to buy a phone that supports GrapheneOS. No bloatware, install what you want, and get top class security and privacy too.