Installing F-Droid is not hard. No need for root. In fact, the usual criticism is that it's too easy. There are a number of scary warnings to click through but

Installing F-Droid is not hard. No need for root. In fact, the usual criticism is that it's too easy. There are a number of scary warnings to click through but that's it. Not great for security but the official distribution is good enough that it's not a problem outside a few select countries where doing business is hard.