Apple entered the smartphone market in 2007. At that time Apple had no way to preference itself unfairly. They went from zero to capturing 75% of smartphone profits in 2021 and dramatically increased the size of the overall market. I think Apple is quite capable of competing without preference. Are they more successful now due to eco-system lock-in? Sure, but to conclude that that is the only reason they have are competitive is just not considering all of the facts.

[0] https://www.counterpointresearch.com/global-handset-market-o...