That is a strange argument I hear over and over again. By sales volume, Apple is something like the #3 PC manufacturer. Apple's competition is NOT the Windows platform (THAT is the platform their competition is on). If it were, Apple would sell their OS to pre-load onto any manufacturer's computer (to compete with the Windows Platform). Apple competes on hardware sales and it is pretty clear that they choose to compete ONLY where the high profit margin is. Many PC companies choose to compete where the volume is (budget, low profit margin PCs) AS WELL AS where the high margin is: lowering their overall profit margin but boosting their volume/revenue numbers. Apple may even be the #1 PC manufacturer when it comes to profit margin (per unit and quite likely as an aggregate number).

Back to cell phones... Do you think Samsung looks at its (cell phone) competitors' numbers and says "WE" (the "we" being all manufacturers selling cell phones on the Android platform, AKA, Samsung's competition) are beating iPhone? Maybe to the press, they smile and say so but where it counts they look at sales numbers (for their competing smartphones) and compare those to their own. In the only important (to a business) end-game, revenue (for the splashy numbers to show the stock market) and profit (to succeed), are the only ways to compare to competition.