In ideal world, yes. OS vendor should not dictate what runs on the OS and under which conditions. Same for HW vendors.
This is a prerequirement for free market to work - the option for new competition to crop up in different fields and give you more options, more innovation and the ability to beat the platform owner at their own stagnation.
This does not exclude the platform owner from launching their own stack and competing on its merits. It's the forceful blocking that's anticompetitive and prevents innovation and improvement.
And if there were no App Store at all would Apple have been obligated to allow one? Or any third party software? That seems to be the argument being made.
Frankly, if it's between opening up iOS to all software or no third-party software at all, I'd take the latter. That's the peace of mind I wanted when I bought my iOS item. Having a singular, curated App Store is the next best thing for that kind of platform. There are other platforms available for other designs and purposes.
This is a prerequirement for free market to work - the option for new competition to crop up in different fields and give you more options, more innovation and the ability to beat the platform owner at their own stagnation.
This does not exclude the platform owner from launching their own stack and competing on its merits. It's the forceful blocking that's anticompetitive and prevents innovation and improvement.