Package managers are not app stores. They are very different things. A package manager usually allows you to freely add non-default repositories — that alone makes it different enough.
They do have their own shortcomings, like how library packages work, but that's ultimately out of scope of this particular discussion. I didn't even have package managers in mind when I was writing that comment.
Not the same thing. You can't add a custom repository in App Store or Google Play. They only ever install apps from Apple's and Google's servers. Getting your app published on those servers is obviously subject to their owners' whims. Meanwhile, you can just run
brew tap grishka/grishka
to add my personal repository to your homebrew configuration. Try doing that with mobile app stores. One might say that, ignoring some technical details, the functionality of package managers is a superset of the functionality of app stores.
> Not the same thing. You can't add a custom repository in App Store or Google Play.
Exactly the point. The problem is that you are not allowed to do that (not a problem of can't). As pointed out by people in other comments, alternative app stores on android totally do have that functionality. So the problem is not app stores as such but google and apple being gatekeepers. Give me the option to add fdroid repos in google play.
You are conflating tools (apt, brew, pip) with stores (Play Store, Appstore, F-Droid).
Android already has the ability to allow a tool to install from different sources (this is how F-droid functions, however only from their own single source).
F-Droid is actually both a tool as well as a repository (which is the one that's included by default in F-Droid the tool). You can add additional repositories to F-Droid the tool.
They do have their own shortcomings, like how library packages work, but that's ultimately out of scope of this particular discussion. I didn't even have package managers in mind when I was writing that comment.