Personally I think Apple and MS are more alike than people think. Apple faces the same problem but on the software side. Where MS OEM's put out cheap junk hardware that still runs a robust software ecosystem, Apple puts out great hardware but doesn't pay enough attention to software. On desktop they've had to allow people to Bootcamp Windows to account for third party software deficiencies. On mobile, they emphasize app quantity over quality and had no problem letting it turn into a budget market. This is a parallel to MS letting OEM's flood the market with a ton of cheap Wintel computers made of plastic.
Basically Apple is content to let their premium hardware run cheap applications, as long as their hardware is selling. MS was content to let cheap hardware run their expensive OS and Office Suite, as long as the software was selling. Only thing is now, Windows 8 isn't selling because the OEM's didn't listen to them, and MS now has to put out their own hardware to save the brand.
If the Surface Pro becomes a success, it'll be because the Windows ecosystem offers worthwhile software solutions you can't find on iOS. Apple will lose their leverage on mobile and their lack of attention to software will hurt them
I don't think so; Apple is a totally different sort of company.
First off: Bootcamp was a
long time ago. If it were happening today, I'm not sure Apple would bother with it. Even if they did, I'm not sure it can really be interpreted as Apple just giving up on software. OSX and iOS have come leaps and bounds since the Intel switch, despite Bootcamp.
As for the AppStore, Apple in no way emphasises quantity over quality. Actually the opposite is true: the review guidelines state that they may reject apps for not being significantly novel or different (e.g. another fart app). Apple is constantly banging on about how even though Android has many of the same apps, the iOS versions are usually much better quality. Quality of 3rd party software is a big deal for them. Have you taken a look at the apps they demo on iPad retail units? It's a great selection of pixel-perfect masterpieces like djay and garageband. Look at the quality apps they promote all over their ads.
Apple can't force developers to make great apps, but they shouldn't have to - so long as the developers get rewarded for doing so, they'll do it. It's a virtuous cycle - Apple wants the best apps, so they focus their promotional work the kind of apps they would like, and developers get rewarded for quality. If you're developing iOS apps and you want to know what a great app looks like, look at the ones Apple promotes.
As a developer who has worked very closely on both iOS and Android apps, I'm convinced that iOS is the better platform. The API is well structured and thought out, updates are rolled out smoothly, reliability is high, the tools and documentation is excellent, the technologies (specifically CoreData and CoreAnimation) which were industry-leading on the Mac are still industry-leading. iOS6 added a lot of things that developers have wanted for ages, and the way some of it has been implemented is really just superb (I'm thinking UICollectionView here). It's taken them a while, but boy did they deliver with that particular feature!
As a developer, I'm convinced that iOS apps are going to keep their quality lead over Android for quite some time. Apple are giving the best incentives that they can, while keeping the market relatively open for newcomers. It's difficult; I don't think Apple ever really expected the AppStore to become so big (which was foolish of them, but at least it hasn't hurt them). Maybe they would have set people's price expectations a little differently if they'd known how it would scale.
