I don't think Apple's strategy can be summed up as 'monopolizing its own hardware supply'. Though it was definitely part of their MO, it's difficult to prove t

I don't think Apple's strategy can be summed up as 'monopolizing its own hardware supply'. Though it was definitely part of their MO, it's difficult to prove that it was responsible for making them profitable / relevant / rich. Plenty of companies have tried owning the hardware and software stack on their products, and not ended up being successful. The phrase 'owning the hardware and software stack' also disguises the fact that they took an existing software stack that had a kind of free licence that allowed them to remove the freedoms of their customers / users. The suggestion that Apple has a single OS that they've ported to phones, tablets, watches, set top boxes and speakers is a bit disingenuous. Microsoft tried pushing the 'one OS everywhere' propaganda more than a decade ago (too), but it simply didn't / couldn't happen (either). Ultimately it isn't a compelling sell to end users -- what users are most interested in is a consistent, quality interface, which may include consistent availability of quality applications, depending on platform.