I think the reality is closer to the opposite of there being a tiny minority at Apple who is trying to keep the high-end flame alive. They know very well that high-end users are important as "influencers" to younger, less affluent, aspirational customers.
I'm not sure what the internal Apple term for it is, but you can think if it like the "halo effect" in automotive manufacturing, which is a big part of why Ford chose to make the $400,000 GT recently - a car that cost them ridiculous cash to develop and build, and will never sell enough units to generate a profit for Ford (some journalists even speculate that Ford loses money when the costs of the entire program and ongoing support are tallied up.) Even though production was limited to just a couple thousand units, and had to be largely outsourced to MultiMatic as opposed to taking place on the line at Ford, the fact that the public knows about their outrageous, world-beating supercar effort makes the more accessible vehicles like the Mustang more attractive. The thinking is that if Ford can build a car that will beat Ferrari at LeMans, then their street cars are probably getting some of that technology too.
And it works. Has done so for decades.
When we're talking about Apple and their high-end products like the new Mac Pro, it will be (and always has been) the situation that aspiring musicians / creatives will see Macs in use in big studios or by the artists whose work they admire. Even though the aspirationals may not plunk down for a massive ProTools rig and a 28-core Mac Pro right off the bat (or ever), they may be more likely to get a MacBook because then they'll be operating in the same universe, speaking the same language, as the professionals they aspire to be, or just want to work with. And once Apple's got their hooks into you with that first MacBook or iPhone, you're more likely to buy more Apple hardware as the years go by.
The fact that the software tools like Logic provide such huge power at such a low price is another enticement for young 'uns to go that way. Simplicity and ease-of-use of the UI and advanced software tools makes them feel like they're getting further, faster. And they are. By keeping these barriers to entry low, Apple makes their ecosystem an attractive choice for beginners who want to feel like catching up to the professionals is not such an outrageous pipe dream.
Back in 1986 or so when I was actually trained at Apple to be qualified to sell Macs at the Sam Ash store in Manhattan (the first music retailer to be allowed to do so), this was made very clear to us, even though we were "civilians" and not under Apple NDA - it wasn't a secret at al. In fact, it was explicitly stated to us that Apple's business model going forward was to eventually offer ALL of their software for free or at a "token" price point. Most software, including operating systems, would be free but would ONLY run on Apple hardware, and their most high-end software would be sold at a price that massively undercut the competition and could be considered a very minor expense for a professional.
Hence, thirty years on we get MacOS for free, and Logic with all the plugins and sounds is only $199.
This approach has two effects - it provides the users with a "bonus" to make up for the high price of the hardware and the perception of an "Apple tax", and the low price of tools like Logic would all but eliminate competition from software developers who could not compete on price because they did not have their development costs subsidized by revenue from sales of expensive Apple hardware.
Seems like it's working exactly as stated thirty-odd years ago.