> the near term lockup of the top of the line fab in the supply chain also reminds me of how Apple had secured exclusivity for some key leading edge iPhone part

> the near term lockup of the top of the line fab in the supply chain also reminds me of how Apple had secured exclusivity for some key leading edge iPhone parts (was it the screens?). Yes, Apple managed to lock up most of the global supply of capacitive touchscreens for about a year after the iPhone came out. The iPhone wasn't the first phone to use a capacitive touchscreen, but for a while, it seemed like it was because nobody else could produce devices with them in large volumes. People used to dismiss Tim Cook as "just" a supply chain guy. But I think it's become clear that supply chain management is at least as important to Apple's success as anything on the design or marketing side.