I choose Apple because I have more success with their first party stuff generally working well. The App Store is filled with junk so if they're "pure and simple" reason for being better is that curation, they're doing a terrible job.
But you refute the GP’s other point in any case - you think their first party stuff is great, which he seems to dispute.
All things being equal, if the closed store were a net negative of any significance, Android would be doing much better than it is.
Their comment honestly resonates with me - I also paid extra for Apple products because I thought I'd get a better experience. As time goes on, that experience has not lived up to the standard it should have. Apple's insistence on cagey behavior has turned me off their ecosystem entirely for personal usage.