I don't find Cheney's arguments persuasive. Yes, Apple has the chip design lead in the mobile space. Yes, Apple takes in the vast majority of profits in the mobile space. But the disparity is not due to the other mobile device manufacturers being price-gouged, performance-bound or otherwise hindered by Qualcomm and MediaTek. Consumers (even tech journalists) by and large don't care about the performance difference between, say, the Nexus 6P and the iPhone 6S. 3D Touch and other OS features have virtually nothing to do with the "secret" design of the A9.