It’s at least a little bit different. Sure, General Mills pays a slotting fee to have Cheerios on a particular shelf location in a grocery store, but they sell the same Cheerios in multiple retail outlets. (And, of course, there is no search engine that the retailer can game for a supermarket.)
Also, I can only find a particular iOS app in a single retail store. If I don’t like that WalMart stocks my favorite brands and products in a way that is hard for me (on a high, unreachable shelf, for instance), I can go to another retailer. If Apple’s search algorithm isn’t relevant and is tipped in the company’s own favor, that’s a problem.
This seems like a whataboutism. Just because Google is wrong it doesn’t mean that Apple shouldn’t do better.
Seriously, if I search for “Podcast” in the App Store, there is absolutely no reason that the Apple “Compass” or “Tips” apps (which both have nothing at all to do with listening or producing podcasts) should even show up in the search results, much less be placed second or third in the search results.