Low cost competitors generally only know how do do just that: make things cheaply. That's their competitive advantage, and they leverage it. Apple is a marketi

Low cost competitors generally only know how do do just that: make things cheaply. That's their competitive advantage, and they leverage it. Apple is a marketing and tech company, and they're good at keeping prices up. Both of them think they are doing better in the long-term. There is no notion of 'sharing' etc. among the low cost competitors, if they could use some kind of IP-rights to hold out their competitors, they would. That said, it should be noted that 'making stuff' is still where the bulk of the money is, even if it's not raw surplus.