Writing this note serves as a record of my research process.
As a user of Apple's iPhone starting from the iPhone 5, I have been using it for nearly 10 years. Apple has been operating on a hardware-based platform with software as the main system for over a decade. It could be said that Apple is synonymous with mobile internet. Therefore, it is understandable that the combined market value of Alibaba, Tencent, and others still falls short of Apple's. This is because without the invention of the iPhone and the App Store, they would not exist. Apple relies on its absolute control over hardware, supply chain, software ecosystem, and app distribution to capture the largest share of profits in the mobile internet sector. Defining software and managing the supply chain are likely Apple’s greatest sources of profit. For over a decade, Apple made money this way, rarely changing the hardware but merely updating the software. Over time, they realized something: although they were making substantial profits, they were also handing over significant sums annually to hidden players—Qualcomm and Intel. These two companies quietly siphoned off earnings while Apple had to keep researching consumer demands, which was simply not cost-effective. So, Apple decided to take matters into its own hands by developing its chips. The A-series chips emerged, causing Apple’s profits to soar. Then came the M1, M2, and more. It became evident that Apple aimed to become a fully closed-loop company encompassing software development ecosystems, hardware design, supply chain management, and IC design, capturing parts of Qualcomm’s, Intel’s, and NVIDIA’s market values for itself. By the way, the Mac has already become the world’s best-selling computer, though its profit margins are much higher than those of PCs. Additionally, the iPad, which will soon function as a full-fledged computer, is on the horizon. Rumor has it that gaming support for Mac is growing, and an increasing number of Steam games will likely support Mac.