No need to play this scenario in your head, here it is in the real world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_RT

Few interested hardware vendors, discontinued after 4 years. "mixed reviews at launch, while critics and analysts deemed it to be commercially unsuccessful"

Windows 10 S was another attempt that "Similarly [restricts] software installation to applications obtained via Windows Store." Cancelled after one year.

Exactly the fate I wish upon closed ecosystems. The only question is why iOS is different. I am inclined to say it's the brand status that overpriced luxury goods have that draws rich people initially, making it lucrative and perhaps even a tad prestigious to be there, but surely it's more than that?

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kuhsaft 2 days ago | parent [-]

I think it’s because the Microsoft Store barely has any apps that users use. The Microsoft Store didn't support the Win32 API, so developers had to rewrite their apps.

iOS was a new SDK from the start.

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lucb1e 16 hours ago | parent [-]

Wait, you lost me somewhere. The MS store didn't support the old way of doing things, people had to rewrite their software; yet iOS was... new as well? People had to start from scratch and so that worked?

	▲	kuhsaft 13 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Sorry, the statements were a bit disjointed. iOS existed before the Microsoft Store. The apps developed were brand new. No backlash from a new SDK and platform. Windows RT is closer to iPadOS though. For iPadOS, apps just worked since it’s based off of iOS. The Microsoft Store only supported a new half-baked SDK that limited what applications were capable of. Developers already had Win32 apps and rewriting them with the new SDK seemed pointless just to support what seemed like a needless limitation.