Apple doesn't need to be altruistic for something to be good for the industry as a whole. Also the M1/M2 hype is well deserved. Sure they aren't gaming computers but pulling off the transition with zero issues for normal people and relatively minor issues for developers (mac, web, any type) is impressive, especially with the battery life and how cool these run.

This is the miracle of capitalism and markets; we harness the greed of people and groups of people for the forward movement of society.

*consumer technology

I wouldn't say it always propels society forward. It pushes and pulls and eventually some forward momentum grows but the forward movement comes much more from basic research and eventual applications of it. Most basic research wouldn't survive with pure market capitalism at all.

They don't have to be altruistic. Without Apple's investment or similar, TSMC is very clear they would deploy new nodes far less frequently, simply because they could not otherwise afford it.