My understanding is that only some games are a “key in a cartridge” and they are able to be resold second hand.

He sounds like a real asshole

Yeah, from apple’s perspective it cheapens their brand and makes them just another commodity parts supplier. Plus, used outside of their ecosystem, the cups might not shine the way they do on their managed platform which could tarnish the image too. Plus, it kills some of the competitive edge they have on hardware if anyone could slap something together with the same chips.

I suspect keeping their chips and tech to themselves is vital to their strategy.

You mean as stand alone parts for purchase?

Because Apple does have m series chips in desktop configurations already- the Mac Studio and iMac.

My thermostat has a hot and cold setting that will heat when cold and cool when hot- I can also set it to a mode based on outside temp or time of day. You might just need a smarter thermostat.