If MiFi was really making Apple so much money they would have left lightening for the rest of world.
Don't think so.
People aren't shedding many tears for Lightning. And even less so does the "tech press" and the YouTubers. The transition to USB-C has been positively received - with a sense that even Apple,
finally have gotten around to do transitioning to the superior (faster charging, more compatible) standard that everyone else is using.
It's similar allowing retro gaming emulators in non-EU App Stores: They don't want the rest of the world clamouring for something imposed upon them by EU regulation. And they absolutely want to negative backlash for not giving something to the rest of the world that EU regulation has forced them to do in the EU.
That's the narrative they want to control.
They also certainly wouldn’t have gone with Qi for wireless charging.
Again, don't think so.
Wireless charging has been implemented in public spaces, cars, furniture, tables, lamp bases, etc. To be used without bringing your own (or any) cable.
When your train or restaurant table has a wireless charging pad built in, an "
Oh, it works with any Android but not iPhones" creates negative customer experience, backlash and bad press.
Apple had to adopt the (de facto) standard. Which is catering to the majority of Android devices. Something that's beyond Apple's control.
It's not 2007 anymore, where every speaker had a (proprietary 30-pin "dock") connector controlled by Apple - and nothing else for "docking" your phone.
So what they did was offering higher charging rates for their proprietary "MagSafe" accessories - while maintaining compatibility with Qi.