Steve Jobs is on record that Apple doesn’t care about being first (to market). They care about being the best. This is why secrecy is a huge part of their cult

Steve Jobs is on record that Apple doesn’t care about being first (to market). They care about being the best. This is why secrecy is a huge part of their culture: it allows them to spend years doing R&D work on multiple prototypes until they land on something they think is better than what is already out there. If they can’t make it work due to the laws of physics (e.g. Apple AirPower) or indecision (e.g. Apple Car), they can shut it down without much fanfare and move on to the next secret R&D project.