From this morning’s Observer column.

Here’s one way of looking at it. Apple’s position in the PC industry is very like that of BMW in the car business: small market share; innovative and much-admired products; and a fanatically loyal customer base. I don’t think I ever met a BMW driver who would willingly change to another marque. And much the same goes for Apple users. For these reasons, the rest of the automobile industry is perpetually fascinated by everything that BMW does. Same goes for Apple. In those terms, the processor decision is analogous to BMW deciding that instead of having its engines made by, say, Mercedes, it would henceforth get them from Ford. And that would be big news in the car business.