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Apple's problem was the other clone manufacturers undercutting them. Sony is a company that is known for being willing to charge premium prices for their premium products. It may have worked out.

I'm not sure it would have made much of a difference though.

I am thinking commoditization of the entire device is flawed while commoditization of parts is not. The way people think they can buy a PC for cheaper than the price of its parts is probably a good example.

It's interesting to see where Apple has done visible product collaborations before. Rarely have they been effective. In the post-clone (Jobs.2) era I can recall the HP-iPod [1], and the Motorola RAZR with iTunes [2]. Both (differently) lopsided in their loyalties. Both failures.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod%2BHP [2] http://appleinsider.com/articles/06/06/12/motorola_razr_with...

In an alternate version of history, It may have been possible for Apple and Sony to seal the relationship and may be co-operate on iPhones and iPad, possibly slowing down Samsung Juggernaut. Well.. you never know...