This would be a weird thing to do, which is obviously why they made it optional in the end - it's such a large amount of money that it creates a massive incenti

This would be a weird thing to do, which is obviously why they made it optional in the end - it's such a large amount of money that it creates a massive incentive to switch or undercut apple's business. Most teenagers use an apple, but it's not impossible to switch. In the 90's, almost all computer users were on PC's, and a big problem for apple was a lack of software offerings on their OS to compete with windows. It seems like some executives are interested in short term profits to the point that they are comfortable creating an environment that would seriously disincentivize use of apple products and the math on that is nuts - if it's no longer profitable (and I can't imagine it is at a flat 30% increased costs) then you remove the service.