Apple announces 4-1 stock split

There is no such thing as fractional share as far as a company is concerned.

This is effectively an investment product no different from a fund: The trading platform/bank buys shares and you buy shares of the pot. You don't get the same voting rights because as far as the company is concerned you do not own any shares.

Stock splitting is to help liquidity by making shares more affordable, and it also as a side effect helps stock-based compensation (e.g. RSUs).

More people can afford lower priced shares as opposed to high priced shares. They can buy sooner and have less risk by buying more, smaller valued shares, more regularly, instead of buying less, bigger valued shares, less regularly.