That doesn't make Conway's Law inapplicable. There is still organizational structure within the self (Apple in your hypo).
Consider for example Windows 2000. In the years during which it (NT5) was developed, Microsoft merged security and directory teams. That yielded Active Directory, and it was a resounding success. Other companies, like Sun, failed to see the brilliance and importance of this, and treated their directory products as a cash cow -- that it was then an ever decreasing cash cow wasn't good, but hey, milk it for all it's got.
Now imagine Apple owning the whole stack. But they too could make a mistake like, e.g., Sun's, or they could get do better than Microsoft in my example. There's no guarantee either way, and it's not necessarily easy to spot the mistake / opportunity as it comes up.
Besides, owning the whole stack is really difficult. Once you get to where you own 90%, the benefit of each additional 1% is more and more outweighed by the cost.
Consider for example Windows 2000. In the years during which it (NT5) was developed, Microsoft merged security and directory teams. That yielded Active Directory, and it was a resounding success. Other companies, like Sun, failed to see the brilliance and importance of this, and treated their directory products as a cash cow -- that it was then an ever decreasing cash cow wasn't good, but hey, milk it for all it's got.
Now imagine Apple owning the whole stack. But they too could make a mistake like, e.g., Sun's, or they could get do better than Microsoft in my example. There's no guarantee either way, and it's not necessarily easy to spot the mistake / opportunity as it comes up.
Besides, owning the whole stack is really difficult. Once you get to where you own 90%, the benefit of each additional 1% is more and more outweighed by the cost.