That's not an entirely unreasonable take, though sideloading apps is still fully available on Google-approved Android and it is not on iOS.
I only have one or two apps I actually want to use that required a SafetyNet bypass. I don't think it's people like us Google is targeting with that though; the main goal as it seems to me is to ensure an OEM won't be successful marketing a phone that funnels less money to Google.
> the main goal as it seems to me is to ensure an OEM won't be successful marketing a phone that funnels less money to Google.
In general such an attested environment provides guarantees a lot of software makers want. Starting from just anti-malware and anti-cheat ending with just DRM.
Some app developers might want attestation for those reasons, but Android is big enough that almost none of them would leave if it was unavailable.