x86 is not the monopoly
The monopoly is the whole PC architecture. That's what allows a single OS image to run on just about any "compatible" box you can buy. That's why Intel and AMD can both make good money selling one of the high-value components in that architecture.
That "whole standard architecture" is what doesn't exist for the ARM, which is why AOSP being open source means very little in practice -- you have to have an Android that is provided (and maintained, or not) by whoever built the specific device. If you want to run AOSP (in Lineage, for example) you first have to wait for someone to find a kernel crack to let you load it on your phone (against the wishes of the vendor) and then you have to hope that these same people don't lose interest in your model (which they will, after a few years).
It is interesting that the commercial pressures don't seem to have forced the Android vendors to standardise their architecture.
I suspect it doesn't exist for RISC-V either and the commercial pressures might not be in the right direction there either. We'll see.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
