I have troubles understanding that. What does know and manage the costs mean? Surely every manufacturer knows how much their supplies cost? Of course if you have more options (inhouse dev, other suppliers), you have more leverage and control. But there is a limit. I still don't see what is to learn from the snippet - that if you control the whole production chain, you can make it big? Hardly?<p>Switching to Intel was a huge success for Apple, if I remember correctly.<p>Also, for the iPad it is only the chip that Apple creates themselves. Or are they also creating their own IPS panels and SSD disks now? I wouldn't be surprised if the panel cost more than the chip.