When I use a phone app store I am always looking for a specific app by name and often having to avoid copycat apps, which often buy ads so they appear above the real app. One thing you notice about phone app stores is that they don't put the search box in a prominent place but hide it out of the way because they want you to click on chum links to chum apps. I'd never browse the app store for entertainment or go looking for "an app for that" because I know I'd just be disappointed.
Google play store has a search button that's even reachable with only one hand. It's just not obvious that you can tap the search label in the bottom tab bar a second time to focus the search text field.
I recently noticed the Spotify app does this as well. Ever since I've just been trying it, and have been coming across a surprising amount of apps that have the same behaviour.
The iOS App Store has a big “search” icon with label on the bottom right that’s always there. Hardly tucked out of sight.
It's barely a search engine with no discoverability or filtering to speak of, same as Google Play. It's impossible to search for an app by purpose rather than its exact name (which will still be listed below the SEO spam)
I'm not saying the search is any good, I'm saying GGP's conspiracy theory about it being hidden doesn't hold up.
Browsing an app store is the only thing I feel is worse than browsing a Netflix or other streaming platform.