Not "non-approved apps", unsigned apps. They're not running approval on the software itself. And technically you can still sideload signed software. And you can sideload unsigned software in non-Google certified Android devices, too.
Hey, I hate their stupid power grab, it sucks and I hope regulators intervene, but if you're gonna get all pretentious and uppity about everybody else's responses you're gonna get fact checked. I don't make the rules.