Publicly, Apple will say that it doesn't care about Android market share for all the usual reasons John Gruber repeats. But privately, if there was one thing that would keep me up at night as an Apple executive, that number would be it.
I don't know, I think China is more on their mind at the moment. It was Steve's crusade to destroy Google; I don't think that really exists in the same capacity anymore. Right now, Apple still make the most money, they're quite happy.
More likely it’s about margins and business model.
Apple’s business model is selling high margin products. More share requires lower costs, which increases operational risk and reduces profitability. That’s why Apple stock is cheap compared to other big tech companies... a problem with execution today has a bigger impact than a company like Google that has a stream of revenue from ads on every platform.
You’re going to see changes in the model as they are hitting a growth ceiling, but they’ll probably take a different services path than Google.
> In fact, one could reasonably say Apple actively tries not to obtain too large of a market percentage to avoid laws affecting monopolies.
I would say rather to avoid laws it's to avoid appearing as a commodity and losing its "fashion" or "hip" status. If everyone has an iPhone suddenly it is less desirable to own an iPhone.
Their entire locked-in software model around OS, dev tooling, browser engine, app store, etc would be subject to legal challenges. True it may not be the primary reason they keep a low market share, but it's definitely a benefit and discourages shooting too high.
I think a mistake to make here is thinking that Apple gives a toss.