The thing I found most interesting about this story was the role of ecosystem in the purchase decision.

From ComputerWorld:

iPads were first introduced in Parliament as part of a pilot in 2012, with 209 currently in use by MPs, according to John Thurso MP in response to a written parliamentary question.

The decision to hand out iPads was taken after an “independent assessment” of alternative tablets and how much it would cost to re-work existing services, infrastructure and train members and staff, Thurso said.

And:

The requirement was “for a secure, SIM-enabled tablet with a good life expectancy and capable of supporting future upgrades”.

The iPad Air 2 met these requirements and the committee found it to be “competitively priced” compared to similar models

The committee reviewed tablets ranging from £100 to £600. A basic cellular iPad Air 2 costs about £500 when bought individually.

“iPads are integrated with current business processes…a move away from the Apple operating system (iOS) at this time would incur costs to change these processes,” he explained.

Boom. There it is. Ecosystem. That’s why it is not critical that Apple sell a specific number of Apple Watches. The key is to recognize the boundaries of the ecosystem and continue to do all that is necessary to keep it healthy, keep customers happy, keep customers spending. This is not a moral or ethical strategy, it is a business strategy.