'it really is a giant among giants.' You're confused. That would be Alphabet, not Apple. To put it in perspective for you, Google has: ~90% of the search mark

'it really is a giant among giants.' You're confused. That would be Alphabet, not Apple. To put it in perspective for you, Google has: ~90% of the search market (https://www.statista.com/statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/216573/worldwide-market-...) ~90% of the smartphone market (https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/18/gartner-androids-smartphone-marketshare-hit-86-2-in-q2/ https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/18/gartner-androids-smartphon...) ~50% of the online advertisement market (http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Google-Still-Dominates-World-Search-Ad-Market/1014258 http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Google-Still-Dominates-Worl...) Hell, Google's staff meets with/at the White House more than once a week! (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3554953/Google-staffers-meetings-White-House-staggering-427-times-course-Obama-presidency-averaging-week.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3554953/Google-staff...) I can think you can see the point I'm making: yes, Apple has a big pile of cash, a fat amount of profit and high stock value. However, Alphabet its influence and reach is far, far beyond that of Apple. Its just not as flashy & visible. Don't agree? Let's imagine(!) two scenarios. Scenario 1 - the US Government somehow figures out a way to force Apple to pay all its evaded taxes. Apple doesn't agree, and to make a point how important they are, killswitch everything. Results: 10% of the developed world can't use their phone anymore 10% of the developed world can't use their computer anymore An even smaller subset can't access their e-mail Scenario 2 - the US Government somehow figures out a way to force Google to pay all its evaded taxes. Google doesn't agree, and to make a point how important they are, killswitch everything. Results: 90% of the developed world can't use their phone anymore 90%+ (Android owners + Gmail, Gcal etc. users) of the developed world can't access their e-mail, calendars, contacts etc. anymore ??% (decently high) of companies/universities can't access their e-mail, calendars etc., because Google Apps is down ??% has trouble navigating because Google Maps goes down (Other maps are still inaccurate and incomplete outside of the US) ??% of companies experience issues by Google Maps+API being down (Uber springs to mind) Advertising also stops working and paying out (can be switched easily though, so not as critical) Besides that, Alphabet is also involved in a number of moonshot projects. (Level 4) Self-driving cars. immortality research, AI research, LTE balloons, etc. etc. The funny part is that I'm typing this on a 13" Retina MBP, with a iPhone 5S in my pocket. I'm by no means a Google fanboy. I love Apple's vertical integration, the amount of synergy and seamlessness their devices have, and that they're championing individual privacy. Also doesn't hurt that compared to Linux, OS X is a godsend to dev on. I've done enough inebriated rambling so I'm gonna shut up now.. Still gave KAT owner's IP address and all his .icloud e-mails to the FBI without any resistance. WTF?