>these users are the products

I like to refine this to say

"these user's attention is the product

Interesting though, what if Apple gave away the hardware for free? It's a crazy business model, but if they can take 30% cut from everything it might work.

While it's not as crazy, the video game console industry operates on negative cash flow in the hardware sales department. Consoles that cost $500 at retail cost $525 to build, and the Nintendo Switch was famously being shipped at a loss of nearly $50 per console sold. It's not an entirely foreign concept, but it is definitely lucrative. Apple could defend their 30% cut if they reduced the price of their hardware, but I get the feeling that their business relies on pumping those profit margins as fat as the customer can tolerate...

They’d be forgoing a huge upfront cash injection when the user pays for the device. And by targeting consumers that can shell out circa $1k for a premium device without too much bother, they not only collect a high-income user base, but create an aura of exclusivity around their devices and ecosystem. Giving hoi polloi free iPhones would throw a spanner in these highly profitable works