I think so too but I don't buy Apple in that case. I have spend < 10$ on apps from stores and it was mostly just a test for me. I don't like smartphones as software platforms at all, I think we could have done much better than what the market supplies but I have niche expectations the common companies cannot fulfill. That said, the casual users in my circle don't spend anything on apps either. That isn't a good solution as well, since the alternatives finance themselves via adds.
Before app stores, you could actually get real free software that didn't use customer data to finance themselves. Sustainable as a business? Perhaps not, but certainly an advantage to users.
I don't buy Apple either but its getting frustrating when they take the best talent to build the best chips. Good for them but what if the trend continues such that the alternatives are at a serious hardware disadvantage?
Before app stores, you could actually get real free software that didn't use customer data to finance themselves. Sustainable as a business? Perhaps not, but certainly an advantage to users.