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I once heard a joke about a misguided businessman who sold lots of product, but at a slight loss. When someone asked him how he expected to stay in business when he was losing a little bit on each unit he sold, he replied:

"Sure, I lose a little on each unit. But I make it up in VOLUME!"

It's a joke.

Just like the people gauging success on market share alone, which is also a joke.

Real success = Profit per unit (times) number of units sold.

It's really quite simple. But some people prefer jokes, I guess.

"Sure, I lose a little on each unit. But I make it up in VOLUME!"

That's a good joke, and pretty much a losing proposition for most companies.

But, the tech industry is quite a different animal, and oftentimes, market share is very important.

An established market share that is much higher than the competition, no matter how profitable that competition is, can be a better long-term strategy. Android has a much larger installed user base, and, devices aren't being very profitable for Google and the makers. But, market share is very important for the after-market sales of products and services and software that can be used by that large installed base. Apple is very successful now, but, mostly as a result of the premium prices that people have to pay to own Apple's iPhone. The after market services for Apple are also profitable, but, that after-market revenue could disappear very quickly if iPhones were to take a tumble and lose the loyal following which keeps Apple in the stratosphere. Apple is playing with fire by continuing to count on its loyal base to keep upgrading to the newest minimally improved iPhone. While it's currently doing great, market share could take them to even higher places. But, huge market share is not possible for devices which are more costly than the competition. There are only so many people who want to pay premium prices for any device, not just Apple's.

Microsoft doesn't make any money from the sales of Windows machines, other than their own, and the money they do get from Windows licenses, is not enough to justify continuing to keep Windows alive. So, the strategy for Microsoft is to make their money with the after-market sales of software and services. That strategy is about market share. Apple's strategy is about making most of their money up-front from higher prices on their devices.

For now, Apple's strategy to make as much as they can while they can from higher prices, is seen as a great business strategy. It's working now, but, it won't last forever, and Apple will, undoubtedly, come down to Earth when people begin realizing that, there really is no need to pay premium prices for products which, other than looking good and perhaps of high quality, aren't really that much better than comparable devices selling for a lot less.

It's not a matter of "if", but of "when" Apple has to start selling their devices at lower prices, then, market share will start to matter a lot.