They can charge a premium because they never sacrificed quality in any systemic way (obviously you can comment with your pet issues but the bottom line is that Apple has kept the quality bar very high for decades). That trust is earned and they charge accordingly.
Some immediately jump to Harvard MBA teachings that caused such widespread lack of quality, or capitalism, whatever. In my opinion a deep focus on quality is rare in any business. It is very hard to scale and keep in a business’s DNA. One reason small businesses continue to be formed and attract customers (beyond “buy local” pandering) is that solid small businesses are run by dictators that create an entity that is an extension of themselves, sacrificing nothing. Therefore they can charge a premium. Extending that to large companies is very difficult and requires solving an incentives and reputation puzzle to make each layer of the organization focus on quality.
I patronize businesses that maintain their quality and I pay for it. Life is too short and I have too much spare cash not to. Apple achieves such standards. You may have to upgrade hardware every few years but that’s part of the price.
It’s the “longtermism” mindset that goes against the grain of human behavior. Eating well, working out, maintaining friendships, putting in consistent effort - the fundamentals of quality. These are values that are hard and I try and notice it when anyone does it - people or businesses.