[rickdeckard]

> people buying iPhones because of hype and not because they were meaningfully better than the competition in ways that many people valued. Is that not what you meant?

No, hype and demand are not exclusive to each other. You can create hype around good or bad products. The key aspect is that hype is not entirely grounded on quantifiable practical values of a product but a demand which is amplified by an emotional desire.

Which is exactly what Apple did, and this move allowed them to make demands towards carriers no other company could.