To an extent, you're right, I overstated my case. They make their profits from hardware, yes, but they don't sell to carriers. They sell to consumers, some of whom buy from individual carriers but the majority channel for iPhone sales is from Apple itself. No other phone maker can say that.
Secondly, Apple's profit is uniquely enriched because it has built the platfrom that it has -- again, no other phone manufacturer reaps the direct from consumer benefit Apple does.
Lastly, because Apple sells markets/sells to the consumer, the consumer picks Apple first and then the carrier -- many change carriers but continue to be loyal to Apple as a phone maker. This is definitely the culmination of a major sea change in the mobile industry. Apple may not the only phone maker that has ever had a consumer act this way, but they are the first to have it happen on a widespread basis.
Horace Dediu makes the case that carriers pay more for Apple hardware because Apple does a better job of getting high value customers onto the network (use more data or more expensive contracts).
Secondly, Apple's profit is uniquely enriched because it has built the platfrom that it has -- again, no other phone manufacturer reaps the direct from consumer benefit Apple does.
Lastly, because Apple sells markets/sells to the consumer, the consumer picks Apple first and then the carrier -- many change carriers but continue to be loyal to Apple as a phone maker. This is definitely the culmination of a major sea change in the mobile industry. Apple may not the only phone maker that has ever had a consumer act this way, but they are the first to have it happen on a widespread basis.