There are at least three pieces to the notion of status symbol - the possessor of said objects deploying them as such, the way those objects are perceived by others, and the extent to which the producers of the objects deliberately craft a public image

This is an excellent point.

I have Apple stuff for several of the same reasons you do. It didn't ever occur to me before that someone would identify me as a brand-for-the-sake-of-brand consumer for using it in public.