Again, you're telling this to an android nerd. I'm aware.

I'm speaking from a perspective of an average joe, who is 100% not aware of the existance of F-droid or is convinced that it's malware.

I'm also don't expect people sift through hundreds of apps, opening each page and checking permissions/ads/reviews.

People install apps either because they've heard about it on TV/whatever, or a friend told them to install this specific app.

This is why people rely on default apps, and compare "phones" based on that.