I often think that Apple's real innovation with iPhone was how they contracted with Cingular before they were acquired by AT&T, and managed to completely bypass

I often think that Apple's real innovation with iPhone was how they contracted with Cingular before they were acquired by AT&T, and managed to completely bypass almost everything that was horrible at the time about phones. I think competitors have undervalued that fact, and so you end up with premier Android smartphones for which updates are rolled out at different times for the same model depending on carrier agreements. Apple either owns or controls the entire pipeline from the mines where minerals are extracted to the palm of your hand, and it doesn't seem like any other company does, or even realizes the benefit of doing so.