> As a user, I’m glad Apple adds features to iOS without charging for updates...
A minor nitpick: on the accounting side, Apple does set aside part of the price of devices to provide software updates and features (imagined and not yet imagined at the time of sale) for a few years, deferring full revenue recognition on sold devices until then. So the cost of updates and addding software features has already been charged upfront to the buyer.
I forget the name of it, but there is a regulation that requires them to do that. You used to have to pay a small fee for iOS updates (I think just for the iPod Touch) - they got around it for the iPhone by doing this trick to have it considered a "subscription device".
A minor nitpick: on the accounting side, Apple does set aside part of the price of devices to provide software updates and features (imagined and not yet imagined at the time of sale) for a few years, deferring full revenue recognition on sold devices until then. So the cost of updates and addding software features has already been charged upfront to the buyer.