As others mentioned, they really are a hardware company already.
Where I disagree with you, though, is why do you want consolidation of expertise into a single silo?
I would prefer better competition and consumer choice. As many point out...
* With Windows, you are beholden to Microsoft and the control they exert over Windows 10, including stuffing ads into your start menu or even popping up alerts over your taskbar insisting that you try Edge.
* With Linux, you have all of the choice, but sometimes a steeper learning curve. Depending on the kinds of gaming you prefer, it's a non-starter.
* With Apple, they make all the choices for you, and as long as you are OK with their choices, you're a happy camper. If you don't like their choices (or depending on the kinds of gaming you prefer) it's a non-starter.
There's a constant tug-of-war between unity and choice. If there was one central way of making games that worked across operating systems, you might have better choices between Windows, Linux and MacOS, but you'd be stuck with whoever controls the game standard.
So back to the central point, I'd be happy for Apple to be a dominant low-level hardware maker... if it wasn't stuck inside their walled garden. I'd much rather have three solid CPU makers (or more) that were compatible with several operating systems, each with support for Unity, Unreal, etc. not to mention things like CUDA.
Where I disagree with you, though, is why do you want consolidation of expertise into a single silo?
I would prefer better competition and consumer choice. As many point out...
* With Windows, you are beholden to Microsoft and the control they exert over Windows 10, including stuffing ads into your start menu or even popping up alerts over your taskbar insisting that you try Edge.
* With Linux, you have all of the choice, but sometimes a steeper learning curve. Depending on the kinds of gaming you prefer, it's a non-starter.
* With Apple, they make all the choices for you, and as long as you are OK with their choices, you're a happy camper. If you don't like their choices (or depending on the kinds of gaming you prefer) it's a non-starter.
There's a constant tug-of-war between unity and choice. If there was one central way of making games that worked across operating systems, you might have better choices between Windows, Linux and MacOS, but you'd be stuck with whoever controls the game standard.
So back to the central point, I'd be happy for Apple to be a dominant low-level hardware maker... if it wasn't stuck inside their walled garden. I'd much rather have three solid CPU makers (or more) that were compatible with several operating systems, each with support for Unity, Unreal, etc. not to mention things like CUDA.