[niftich]

Well, they're not really wrong; while it's true they were selling high-margin hardware and making a handsome profit, they've been a vertical for many, many years, and all that hardware install base is just to get their services into people's hands.

While earnings calls always try to put a positive spin on the facts, I don't think their calling attention to their services is a distraction; it's simply pointing out what several people already knew: that selling 'services' on an ongoing basis is better in the end than selling actual tangible objects, which you can only sell once.

[mmanfrin]

I think in general that selling ongoing services is a good business model, but Apple's bread and butter and golden goose has been hardware. Their enormous cash reserves were built by hardware, not software. Certainly software was a bit part of making that happen, but the margins and money came from hardware.

[niels_olson]

There's also the issue that you can only sell great hardware so often. I ordered my retina MacBook the first day they were available in 2011. It's out of AppleCare and works better now than the day I got it. I have an essentially infinite supply of laptops and tablets available but any effort replacing this machine couldn't possibly be worth it.

[fredgrott]

but it does have a limitation in that some Apple services are not on other platforms and some are.

And some of the Apple Services are up against some very competitive Services..