When they really need to. But they'll fight it hard! Apple's business model is to lock everything down -- very closed indeed. This does not align with the goals of bitcoin, at least, how I perceive them.
tl;dr Apple = closed. BTC = open.
I do not understand why you give this issue such importance? Bitcoin and altcoins are treated differently, and each company has its own development strategy. If an apple does not interest and does not use cryptocurrency in its technology, nothing terrible and critical will happen.