I remember the last time Apple had Mac clones. The Mac clones cost less than Apple's Macs and Apple shut it down. Power Computing used PC parts to make their Mac Clones like IDE drives instead of SCSI drives, etc.
If I was Tim Cook, I'd have Apple make ATX motherboards with Mac BIOS and upgradeable slots and CPU socket and sell them to Mac Clone makers. So they can put in a graphic card and other stuff. Have Apple control the quality of the motherboard and let the cloner add the other parts to make it a full computer.
I've found myself thinking this too. I wouldn't suggest they license macOS to all and sundry, but they could work with one or two carefully selected hardware vendors to fill a couple of lower-volume niches: workstations, and workstation-class laptops.
Some people can afford Rolls and they pay extra for
Finish and quality. The Mac Pro is such a device. I
Personally don't think you can farm it out and get the
Same results.
Competition at the high end of the graphics market is
bad since the Amiga went off the market. The Amiga
Embarrassed Apple to try harder, but now what.
I personally need a PC because I am studying to be a
Trader. I would love to own a Mac Pro and work on this
Machine.
There is a Mod-Book project to take Apple Macbooks and upgrade them with touch screens etc. http://blastar.in/wordpress/2016/10/12/kickstarter-mod-book-...
If I was Tim Cook, I'd have Apple make ATX motherboards with Mac BIOS and upgradeable slots and CPU socket and sell them to Mac Clone makers. So they can put in a graphic card and other stuff. Have Apple control the quality of the motherboard and let the cloner add the other parts to make it a full computer.