That's false. The ones you can get here in Slovenia don't have them. I've personally helped quite a few friends sideload them. I also remember how shocked people were to find out there's no YouTube or Play Store after buying a Huawei or Xiaomi phone when that first came into effect.

Correct, same in Germany. Here is a photo I shot last December in an electronics store. Aurora Store is now official, I guess.

https://imgur.com/a/v6zaRYo