"Apple plans to require that all application software for MacOS be approved by Apple first."
I'm ready to leave MacOS if this becomes reality (no way to install apps outside of Apple Store). So so far it's pretty easy to install custom apps and grand them root permissions.
There's no "if", notarization has already happened. As of a few months ago, macOS Catalina warns users if an app hasn't been notarized.
It's the latest step in a multi-year effort to make macOS a little less of a wild-west of software, but as with all the previous steps, it's pretty trivial for knowledgeable users to override - you just right click on an app and choose "Open" and you can bypass the signature/notarization checks.
I'm ready to leave MacOS if this becomes reality (no way to install apps outside of Apple Store). So so far it's pretty easy to install custom apps and grand them root permissions.