<i>&gt;android doesn&#x27;t seem to make much of dent in apple&#x27;s profits here</i><p>Of course it does. Imagine the profits if iOS had 90% market share as Windows once did (or still does) on the PC.<p>Your point about IBM is a good one though. I think the reason why vertical integration can be dangerous is that the entire platform is only as strong as its weakest link. You don&#x27;t want great industrial design being held hostage by, say, bad batteries or slow CPUs.