There is no contradiction. I agree Apple hardware is good. But it's not why you buy it (well, maybe you personally do, but you are not representative of the median Apple client)

If it was that simple mainstream Linux success would be one good marketing campaign away.

Their hardware is really good, their software is fine — at least as good as all the others to the average user I think, the integration between their products is good, and their marketing is obviously top tier.

I don’t think they’d be as successful if their products were not premium hardware.

I’d love an arm based laptop with a great screen and trackpad running Linux for work.

Do you have any sources for this? I agree that people tend to follow their peers, or seek things that communicate a higher social status, but like, Apple's hardware just is also very good, and that could easily be why someone stays with them, even if they were prompted by status.