My concern is just how disposable and unrepairable Chromebooks are. So much e-waste generated every 2-3 years.

They’re already starting to clamp down on sideloading. I use Aurora Store out of principle, but it’s getting more and more common that apps will refuse to launch if not downloaded from the Play Store. I get the risk of sideloading maliciously modified banking apps or whatever, but surely you could just compare a checksum or something?