At this moment Apple is effectively banning web browsers except their own safari. The other browsers you see on iOS are just a wrapper over the native webkit view.
Probably a controversial opinion, but seeing how Safari is the only browser behaving correctly on macOS (performance- and battery-wise), I'd assume only Apple has the motivation to make a correct browser for iOS.
Imagine the kerfuffle if Google had Chrome on iOS. 2% of "PC" users complain of Chrome hitting their battery hard on macOS. iOS has a much bigger market share.
Competition is healthy, I agree. But sometimes the best interest of the vendor and the users don't align, and I'm more confident Apple is prioritizing battery life and performance over other things, while Google will prioritize those other things (like ads and data collection). I can't imagine them allowing adblockers on iOS (exactly as they don't on Android, afaik)
why not let the consumer decide their browser of choice? Apple isn't prevented from creating battery efficient code by allowing others to write a browser.
From a user point of view, I see many differences and even paradigm shifts across webkit-based browsers on all platforms. When you call a browser 'just a wrapper over webkit view', I don't even know from where to begin. Specific engine is the last thing to consider today.
