It seems like Apple's business model is more and more directed towards strong-arming users into buying hardware.
I disagree.
I think Apple's business model is providing an integrated user experience which incorporates new means of interacting with hardware and software whenever such new means allow that integrated user experience to be significantly improved.
If old means of interacting can be preserved without providing a drag on forward-looking developments, they typically are (hence Classic, Rosetta, etc.). But if maintaining older approaches compromises the effectiveness of newer features, the older approaches get axed.
AFAICT, it's always been that way, or at least during the 18 years I've been a Mac user, and particularly during the second reign of Steve Jobs. You may argue that what constitutes an "improved" user experience is debatable, but the market's reception to Apple's hardware and software products and services suggests that a very large number of users don't share your concern.
