This does fuck all for "security". It's targeting, mainly, power users and puts just more hoops for developers. This has nothing with security (they should purge malware from Play store first) and everything to do with consolidating power over users.

It's a blatant power grab and I'm surprised to see this interpreted as anything else. Arguing about semantics just helps Google fuck everyone over.

So let me buy a goddamn phone that I can install what I want in it. Again, I do not give a shit about any phone manufacturers that want to make a walled garden out of their Android installations. I agree, it's perfect for the grandmas of the world. But Google is forcibly doing this to every goddamn phone, phone manufacturer, and Android enthusiast.

The only silver lining is that whenever Google decides that unregulated social media services like Lemmy are not family-safe I won't have to listen to your malicious horseshit.

developer verification can be disabled, bypassed, or worked with

In reality this is useless given the technical capabilities (or access to the technology necessary) of nearly every android user. What percentage of them do you think has the capacity and capability to use ADB?

you called it sideloading removal, which it isn’t.

Strictly it ticks the box, however effectively it is sideloading removal. Arguing otherwise honestly makes me think you work for them. It's such obvious marketing bullshit "Oh, we left this tiny window open to tick the box which people can use, but almost certainly not you and even if you are capable, it's a pain in the arse". There are lots of intelligent people in my house. I'm the only one capable of using ADB without enormous effort, making it a deliberately huge barrier and even I'm not going to do it to install a trusted open source app.

Let's be clear; the only reason they left that little window open was to have people like you say "no, sideloading is still possible" to cover their arses legally and also for actual developers, not because they care about an open ecosystem.