I am not sure that's the best example .. Not being able to install any software without Apple acting as the middleman is very concerning for both 3rd party dev

I am not sure that's the best example .. Not being able to install any software without Apple acting as the middleman is very concerning for both 3rd party devs and consumers. But that should not be something that has anything to do with root. FWIW, Android does this better : you do have a play store but you can also sideload any app. You just need to confirm that you know what you are doing and the play store can still scan these apps against known malware signatures.