> This assumes those App Stores themselves are either audited or verified by Apple to provide a level of verification to prevent such apps from just being submi

> This assumes those App Stores themselves are either audited or verified by Apple to provide a level of verification to prevent such apps from just being submitted unsandboxed and/or the platform notarizing every app without question No, it very specifically doesn't. It would be Apple allowing another authority to also shoulder this load, after the user has specifically said they want to also trust that authority. I have no idea how you could come to the conclusion the Apple would need to verify everything in a discussion about a way in which Apple would not need to be the only entity verifying everything.