> They needed to speak up as soon as the iOS/Android duopoly began to emerge

Android drove the other options out of the market because of Google's fraudulent marketing about giving users the freedom to run anything they liked and being open source.

The fraudulent marketing came first, and truly open Linux based options previously in development were the casualties.

> for most users this is a sort of technical lie that they don't really care about

People have been going on about Android being open and iOS being a closed walled garden for as long as both platforms have existed.

The excuse making about Android becoming a walled garden, so walled gardens are OK now started only after Google altered the bargain.