It does depend on the tree but nature itself does quite a bit of pruning and topping. For example during hurricanes which are a typical feature of many tropical locations. Ice storms and forest fires do their part in temperate climates. Some of our fruiting trees are pioneers, short occupants with short lives, some live longer lives, and some live very long lives. So, depending on which tree you are talking about pruning should be done with that in mind and to get a reasonably easy harvest as mentioned.
Also by choosing dwarf varieties, dwarfing rootstocks, etc. less pruning can be done.
Today I had the chance to work on a lychee farm using a man-lift/ cherry picker. The basket was large enough for three of us and two 25 gallon bins for the fruit. One operator maneuvered the machine and two of us picked 200 lbs per hour, one large tree yielded nearly 500lbs fruit. They also use that machine to pick large mango and other trees. It has allowed the farm to let lychee grow very large and yield far more yet still be harvestable in a safe and efficient way so with the right tactics tree size can actually be a benefit.