> The opportunity for competition exists

Perhaps, but I guess it would take on the order of a decade for a competitor to build their technology including an ecosystem with customers.

And who says they won't copy Apple's business practices?

> but everyone else is just sitting on their asses while Apple's chip team puts in the work.

That's because the complexity of the semiconductor industry is daunting. You need far more than a team of IC designers, especially if you want your product to become successful in a world where there is one main player.