Except that the apps help sell the phone. Just look at Apple's marketing since the App Store came out. Having an ecosystem of easily accessible free and paid ap

Except that the apps help sell the phone. Just look at Apple's marketing since the App Store came out. Having an ecosystem of easily accessible free and paid apps is a huge driver in terms of the iPhone's popularity. Your Walmart analogy would make more sense if Walmart sold tickets for admission. For example, Costco, a store that does in fact sell memberships, does buy and resell some products for no margin or even at a loss in order to cultivate a variety of goods to incentivize people to maintain a membership.