It would encourage the proliferation of low effort/lowest common denominator/“checkbox” ports to their platforms, which directly opposes what they want. By requiring a hardware purchase, they select for devs who are serious about their presence on Apple platforms and are more likely to invest in the quality of the iOS/macOS versions of their apps.
Of course a lot of low effort ports find their way into the App Store anyway, but if you compare how many of those iOS has vs how many Android has, the difference is staggering. On macOS the advantage is less clear since desktop platforms have throughly been colonized by Electron, but it still holds an advantage thanks to a bevy of small shop Mac exclusives.
Of course a lot of low effort ports find their way into the App Store anyway, but if you compare how many of those iOS has vs how many Android has, the difference is staggering. On macOS the advantage is less clear since desktop platforms have throughly been colonized by Electron, but it still holds an advantage thanks to a bevy of small shop Mac exclusives.