Fatman

WeChat is the OS of China. It’s functionally has expanded exponentially since it’s introduction. Many companies in China require payment through the app. It is also well known that it is the Chinese government’s way of tracking all activities of their citizens. It is so far ingrained in their society that it would be nearly impossible for a citizen to not have it installed on their smartphone.

It's all about security. If you want your home hacked (locks, garage doors, routers, thermostats, etc)  then buy anything out there. Apple is trying to establish a model that at least lessens the chance of security breach - yes they make money doing it, but they also provide quality assurance and peace of mind to the customer. I do not see a correlation between a large factory that makes Star Wars toys and a factory having a proven capability of producing secure IOT chips and devices for home automation.

I cannot reveal my source, but I am absolutely certain these numbers are not correct.

He can only make an argument if they are completely equal financially - working? salary? Credit rating history? Late payment history? Current balances/debt? Oldest account?  ... all based on algorithms for each individual. I’m sure they would love to extend her more credit if she qualifies and they can limit risk. If this dude didn’t look into all these things, he should be sued for libel.

For the life of me I cannot understand why Apple doesn’t sell ‘iMac matching’ Apple branded 21.5”and 27” 4K and 5k stand-alone monitors. They’ve had a gap in their offering for years - could charge a heavy premium (say $850 and $1400 respectively) and people would still buy them.

They will either exclude accessories and keep price same or include them and raise price - I find it hard to believe they would both exclude items and raise the price ... the media would have a field day with that scenario.

Civil rights are a greater and much more important human struggle than the insignificant haggling about fees a video game company pays to another company to use its digital platform. Absurd comparison. Those that have fought hard for civil rights should be very offended at this comparison. Boycott Epic & Fortnite and demand an apology from this twit.

Apple please just make sure the pro audio software, drivers and IO remains stable and seamless... you can’t afford to lose the lucrative niche of recording artists and studios... they all use Macs. Windblows is still riddled with bad drivers and frustrating instability.

Microsoft invented and perfected ‘copy acquire kill’ ... they were 90 days away from killing off Apple after they stole their OS! Microsoft stifled innovation with their monopoly in computing for over 25 years. Intel did the same on the chip side with their inefficient hot running chips, killing off 64bit RISC processor competitors made 20 years ago. Ironically today we are seeing the most innovation from Apple with a new OS running on new devices using 64bit RISC processors. Apple is no saint - but at least when they acquire smaller software companies their users benefit and the acquired company consensually agrees to the millions of dollars they receive as compensation.

Apple invented the modern smartphone hardware, OS, app store, development tools, and many of the underlying concepts. After many years they built a successful business and loyal customer base and they allow other companies to share in that success. There was a tremendous cost to develop all that and to continue to maintain it. Does Apple make a profit? of course, as they should for their innovative, successful hard work. Epic is making a profit too - but apparently they feel they want more than a 70% slice to use the Apple platform and tap into this audience. If Epic doesn’t like the rules then stick to consoles and PCs. Epic has gone about his the wrong way, instead of negotiating like big boys they come across as a bratty little kid using tactics to bad mouth Apple. Very foolish, Long term, Epic has more to lose in this battle than Apple - at some point - like all other video games - the Fortnite fad will fade away, then what?