It's amusing that literally 20 years ago, Apple was a bit cash-strapped and got a $150m investment from Microsoft...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ownc_LP3t08&feature=youtu.be...
Less competitors, less focus on initiatives and innovation.
You could argue that part of the reason that Apple hasn't been that innovative the last few years. There's no one company really doing any amazing in their bread/butter of smartphones.