Do Americans Really Serve ‘Indentured Servitude’ to Apple Inc. (AAPL)?

While we don’t have the exact statistics, it’s reasonable to expect that on average, American households are spending the same, if not more on cell phone service plans, banking, automobiles, and insurance, than they are on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) products. So why is Cupertino being singled out in this way?

Another way to break it down is by looking at market share, let’s say in the U.S. smartphone market. Despite what most would think, Apple actually holds nearly the same amount of market share as Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)‘s Android OS, according to this November report. If Android makes up approximately 46% of the American smartphone market – to the iPhone’s 48% – are we in “indentured servitude” to Google as well?

No.

Consumers’ demand for AAPL iPhones, Android phones, cell phone plans, and technology in general, acts exactly the same way as demand for other products. That’s Economics 101. It’s arguable that technological advancement is a basic factor of one’s standard of living, so, isn’t it an encouraging sign that household spending on Apple products is set to increase over the next three years?

Unfortunately, many who read about the “Apple Tax” will single out Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) without taking a step back and looking at the entire situation. In this author’s opinion, it’s ludicrous to single out one particular company, in one particular industry. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.