And so you ignored the larger point that he's more than capable of making smart investments like Softbank who now own ARM, similar to Apple's prior investment in Imagination Technologies Group who design the GPUs for the A-series SOCs. Apple was first out the door with a 64-bit ARM chip in a smartphone - they need this investment to stay at the front of the pack. It also helps to invest in a company that shuttles more iPhones than any other distributor in a market as difficult and lucrative as Japan.

Getting back to my comment you quoted -- given the growing concern over user privacy, being in the position where you can serve both users who care AND those who don't is a very nice position to be in. His being gay while growing up in a conservative state no doubt influenced his desire to protect users privacy. The culture of the company is important if it's to attract new talent.

Choosing to take (or not take) a position on protecting people's rights is part of running a public company. This sort of thing shapes Apple's brand, makes a difference in recruiting, makes some employees feel more valued (and others less so) and so on in all sorts of other little ways. Tim Cook may be doing this well or badly, but either way making these choices is absolutely part of his job.

i bought an iphone 7 specifically because it protected user's privacy a bit more than android phones. so i wouldn't say they don't matter at all. to some people they do.

There are plenty of companies who will compromise their customers to make a buck, why not invest in them? As a human, I'm glad Tim has priorities other than greed.