Correct, it is also important to recognize that they could have exploited their user base (500 million iPhones sold) to serve ads or collect data and sell it - that is a real business expansion idea. "They don't need to make money as a hardware company" sidesteps the investor-company relationship: Public companies are obligated to expand under investor pressure, but the strategy is always in the hands of the executives. Apple didn't succumb under the pressure.
I wouldn’t say it’s “just” a benefit of their business model; it’s the entire point. I don’t see Samsung making any of these moves.
Any good product organization (and Apple is one of the best) focuses on their customer. We all know that. But Apple goes further and takes their customers’ side — the iTunes Music Store was an absolute disaster for the recording industry but a huge boon for the consumer (and, of course, iPod sales).
Apple is only in a position to do this effectively because they have such a large and loyal customer base. They have a large and loyal customer base because they have consistently driven innovation in personal computing while making high-quality devices that people are willing to pay a premium for. Why would they betray that loyalty?
Apple’s business model is simple and easy to understand. I look at their balance sheet and see where the money comes from: hardware sales to consumers. You can do the same with Amazon and Google too — which shows you why their definition of “customer focus” is so different from Apple’s.
I agree 100%. Everything from hardware level encryption, localized machine learning, face-id(and Touch ID), T2 Chip, Secure Enclave, afps, secure vault, etc are all not needed for “normal business” but are focusing specifically on privacy as a differentiating factor.
Out of many large corporations the only company I trust is Apple. I’m happy to pay more. I’m happy to sit through their repair bullshit. I trust their motives.
It's also a conscious decision in the way they build their products. If they wanted to, they could also continue being a hardware company and add data-mining/ads on top of that -- but they choose not to.