So do Apple, CPU from Intel, GPU from AMD, SSD from Samsung......
AFAIK, even iPhone is not manufactured by Apple, they just design it.
Apple isn't known for rebadging all their products. They're also not an individual internal components seller.
Even Intel relies on external suppliers giving them the parts required to manufacture their hardware. However, much like Apple, they design and set forth a plan to do just that. They're not buying processors they didn't have a hand in from suppliers and renaming them Intel processors.
Make sense?
Let me give you an example. The majority of good PSUs are made by a handful of companies that get rebranded by companies most people have heard of. Often times there may be a special request, such as better caps. But that's about it. These first party manufacturers make different levels of good. They even make terrible PSUs they sell to OEMs who need the cheapest good product to put in prebuilts. Companies like Corsair, Thermaltake, EVGA, etc. are buying already made stock and slapping their name on it and selling it as their own, not the first party.
Apple is an OEM that works with hardware partners to pick out hardware and design hardware that will work best with their tweaked OS they also develop. This is a lot different than what I outlined earlier.
PC mice are a blend of both. PC mice shells are usually designed by the company selling them. Though their internals are often made by others. There's large swaths of mice out there using the same mice sensors. Some mice may be very cheap, some may be expensive. Sometimes special switches are used for button durability. The driver software is usually independent.
Companies like Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix, et al. both design, manufacture, and distribute their hardware. Micron has Crucial for their consumer side (with Micron serving corporate interests). Companies like Patriot are just like Corsair; they slap their name on a product they had no input on. Counter to that GPUs are different. AMD or NVidia supply the GPU chips. It's up to partners to put together the final product. They just supply drivers so customers don't have to rely on these partners for upto date driver sets.
Don't get me wrong. Some of those rebadged products are excellent. But if I were going to buy a mechanical keyboard tomorrow, I wouldn't go with DAS, Corsair, MSI or others. I'd go with Filco. DAS does have a heavy hand in input and may still manufacture their hardware, but I simply don't like their products.
In short, if you were to compare Apple to Corsair, it would be akin to saying Apple buys Microsoft Surfaces, puts it in their own aluminum shell, installs their OS and sells it as something they came up with with 100% originality.
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Some of those designs, truley hurt my eyes, OMG, so ugly. The Asus' design is a mistake imo. I think the Apple trash can has received so much negative press that any design that mimics it, will instantly be associated to it. Its a mini PC w/o much expandability, and it does resemble the design cues of the Mac Pro. I agree with others, it does tend to look like an air purifier though
To toe the line, there's a movement of system builders who love small form factor and the challenges they bring. Makes no sense to me. I prefer a large case I can set somewhere and be done with except for the twice yearly dusting.
