Apple is only controlling inside of their ecosphere and products. They philosophically see products as built, and fixed, by them. They don't want to build an open product that you can hack or play with. They don't force retailers or other manufacturers to sell only their product, something Microsoft did and was sued for.

You might not like Apple's model, but there's nothing about it designed to dominate the world. It's just the way they do things.

In terms of exploiting, I'm not sure someone wanting the latest and greatest can ever "not" be exploited. Lots of people don't have the latest, Apple has a fast product cycle, and you can choose to upgrade or not. I still have lots of friends with 1st and 2nd generation Touches, and 4th or 5th gen Nanos, which are a few models out of date. Lots of those plastic Macbooks out there that still work great for many people.