> […] and yes, even Apple

I was under the impression that Apple makes most of its money from margins on hardware sales, with services a growing percentage (Apple TV, App Store).

The "advertising and marketing" that is involved with Apple is them spending money on it so people know about what they sell, and not so much Apple taking in advertising and marketing money (which Google and Meta do).

Part of their advertising IS their hardware. It's definitely good, but it's almost mostly fashion.

The bad part (from my perspective) is that I pay a premium for iOS/MacOS but still get ads anyways. Why does the App Store show me ads if I'm sponsoring it with every app I purchase? Why does Apple Music show me a pop-up ad when I accidentally auto-launch it with my headphones? Why does Safari still want me to try the new one?

Apple does not live or die off advertisements like some others, but they are definitely a victim of this downward trend. As their margins on hardware shrink, their relationship with China comes under threat, and their monopoly on The App Store becomes less certain, it will be interesting to see how well they resist this pattern.

Nope, they have an extensive ad network that conveniently continues to track users, even when they opt out of the tracking that Meta and Google fought so hard against:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-08-14/apple-...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2021/10/19/apples-...

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/apple-is-an-ad-company-now

https://9to5mac.com/2022/08/03/apple-ads-expansion/

Actually no. Those companies are the primary service providers to the advertising and marketing industry. But the industry itself predates them and exists (and would continue to exist) independently of them.