If Apple didn't rigidly control their hardware, then they'd have a much bigger problem with malware etc. The whole point of the Appstore only allowing third party developers access to certain locked down APIs, is to avoid the problems on Android of an app getting access to all of someone's personal information (for example).
People buy Apple because of the curated app model, so yes, it is perfectly understandable how much control they exert.
As for Microsoft, they're trying to do the same with the Windows Store, but there's no way they can remove any of the (many) old APIs without wreaking the vast ecosystem of Windows software.