[windexh8er]

> I get that repair shops 'just want to buy the chip', but that's really not what making parts available on the market means.

This is where your argument breaks down at the fundamental level because this is flat out incorrect. Organizations like Digikey, and many others, do exactly this. They've been around a long time and they cater to low volume buyers at reasonable margins.

Unfortunately your argument seems rooted in missing fundamentals and conveniently are ignoring entire market segments to bolster your argument that Apple isn't in the wrong here. They are. And what they're doing is anti-competitive.

[Kirby64]

Did you overlook the rest of my comment? Digikey et al can handle distribution, yes, and in some cases can offer minor applications assistance, but they are not the manufacturer and therefore do not have the domain expertise required to adequately support the product. Especially complicated products. I can tell you I've worked with distribution FAEs directly, and they're more-often-than-not just messengers used to shuttle information from the customer to the actual manufacturer FAE or direct applications engineer.

They also don't produce any documentation, nor produce any application boards, collateral, drivers, etc.

Market segments that a company (a semiconductor company) wants to service all have different needs. General market/distribution is a very different business from custom/large customer business. Just like it's very different from industrial. Or automotive.