None of those points were mentioned earlier - your comments in #4 are solely concerned with the consumer end. They already optimize the manufacturing process as the product ages but those internals are of no interest to the end user.

The employees seem to be paid fairly well - I haven't heard of staff quitting over compensation.

Given the $80B cash in the bank the R&D budget is likely on the "healthy" side.

The Japanese mobile phone industry has steadily reduced their product cycle time to the point where new models last about 6 months. It's not doing them any good as the new models don't have enough differences to distinguish them from the one consumers already have, thus removing the desire to buy. The industry's bottom line reflects this consumer attitude, with people hanging on to regular phones for longer than they used to.