CPU? TSMC turns away business; Apple courted them for years and had a tiny number of alternative foundries. RAM or Flash Memory? Same tiny fraction-of-purchases by Apple and concentrated suppliers. Batteries? Again, Apple a tiny share and there are very large suppliers who are happy to have Apple business but likely have similar profit margins across the board. Camera? Apple apparently pays top dollar for Sony quality, capability and volume. Radios? Qualcomm is undoubtedly pleased to have Apple’s business but is still in the driver’s seat regards the tech.

Now we’re getting down, cost-wise, to little tiny screws, circuit boards and the like. Without a single example of an industry where Apple can put the hurt on a supplier, in a way that Samsung, Lenovo, Xiaomi, LG, HP or dozens of others couldn’t, just as well.

The claim that Apple bullies suppliers is old, but I’ve never seen any logic how it could work. You’d do us—and your reputation—a favor by either documenting, or hammering a stake thru the meme.

For some reason it’s always Apple, rather than the dynamics of a particular market, that is the problem.

By a quick SWAG, Apple buys less than 10% of all the small-screen displays, and less than 5% of the large-screen displays. And by reports, the display industry is highly concentrated; by my recollection fewer than 5 players account for most of the production. E.g., Samsung controls a large share and sets prices aggressively; LG and Sharp reportedly get lesser shares (while still being quite large) and profits (while not).

The industry has typical tech problems: technology is changing rapidly, so firms which don’t ramp up quickly to make the newest screens, find themselves having to sell lower-profit screens, making it harder to recoup their investments. Also, rolling out mass production of any given tech has been beset with problems.

By reports, Apple looks for very high quality screens (for which anybody pays some kind of premium), and establishes long-term relations to ensure steady production volumes. Apple’s financial reports show that they buy huge amounts of equipment that is NOT in an Apple factory; given the weak profitability and investment challenges outlined above, the claim that Apple’s suppliers suffer from Apple’s success seems AWFULLY bass-ackwards.