doggone

A headless Mac that is not a Mac mini really needs expandability.  So a shorter, smaller version of the MacPro would be cool.  An overweight Mac mini does not fit the bill. 

I don't quite get it.  
#1 Leather is a by-product of the food industry.  I doubt that any more cows were needed to make the cases.
#2 A recent study showed that leather watch straps hold significantly fewer germs.  I imagine that same goes for the cases.
#3 Leather ages well, forms a patina and stays clean well.
#4 Leather is water resistant.

The form factor for the iMac has bothered me for years now.  The chin on the display is unnecessary and apple should be placing the circuit boards behind the screen.  Essentially all you should see from the front is the screen with the bezel just big enough to house the camera.
I agree that the iMac is on its last legs.  It has limited utility as an all in one for young kids, schools and maybe kiosks or receptionists.  Any other use is better served by a laptop that you can easily hook up a display to when you want to work at a desk.
I agree on the pricing for SSD and RAM and the miniimum configuration really needs to be 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. Unfotunately that is where Apple makes free money so i don't see it ending. Personally I just by the model that has the configuration I want.  It generally is cheaper than doing a custom configuration and the delivery is faster.

As a consumer, I will continue to only use the Apple App Store. Security is a critical issue for me and I don't want to lose my financial and personal information just because I downloaded an app from a site that does not do the type of due diligence that Apple does.  Other app stores will have to cut corners and I'm sure their verification process will be part of that.  

I stopped buying Apple monitors 20 years ago.  The price and feature set has not been favorable compared to other vendors. I rather save the money and use that on Apple computers instead.  I have only one rule and that is not to buy any Samsung displays.  Dell's out too.  Even with that limitation you can get monitors that are equivalently spec'd to an Apple one at half the price.
Here's a selection of USB-C monitors are all types of activities.
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/best/usb-c

Bottom line, Apple monitors will always be more expensive because they cannot sell in the same volume as other brands.  

This might sound silly but I have never figured out why the pencil isn't allowed to work with an iPhone.  I don't an iPad but I would like the ability to jot stuff down on a phone by writing rather than typing.  

if the chips are available then I would say M3 all the way.  if I were in the market for an iMac and saw that M3s were starting to be used, I would probably not buy a M2 version thinking that the M3 may be out in 6 months.  

But it is interesting that iMac refresh rates are slowing down.  I get the color offerings but that makes it even harder to sell your inventory.  For me, laptops are far more useful and it is easy to attach a monitor or two if you want to work in a desktop mode. I haven't understood why the iMac still has a chin.  Apple in the website talks about how thin the unit is.  Who cares? When you are looking at the screen you don't see the thickness or lack of it.  But you do see the chin.  Why not make the unit just screen at the front and put the circuit board behind the screen.  The website shows a lot of images of people using an iMac for work.  Anyone doing major work will likely want several screens nowadays and again a laptop would be more flexible in its use case.  So iMacs are probably mostly useful for kids, light secretarial activities etc.  So keeping the price down low maybe a good reason for moving to M2 only.

I firmly believe Apple should start thinking about pushing down on the low end market.  They did this superbly well with the iPods.  Apple started off with the main iPod but then it really took off with the iPod mini (and the PC version of iTunes).  However there was still a lot of customers using cheaper MP3 players until Apple came out with the shuttle that effectively sucked all the profit out of the business.  
I think there is an opportunity with the M1 chip to release a cheaper notebook solution.  Something in the $500-700 range with basic features.  The price for M1 fabs must be very cheap now and Apple has the opportunity to put pressure on the PC market by getting customers who can't afford a regular Mac to gain entry at a price point that works for them.  
This isn't about cannibalizing the Mac market but starting to introduce a new user base to the Apple world.  If successful it will reduce the profit margins of other PC makers.

Buying them isn't so easy.  TH ecurrent market cap for MASI is 4.3M.  Back in April it was 3 times as much.  Apple won't want to spend that for a measily O2 sensor.  So licensing would be the way to go if the gov't agrees with the ban.

lkrupp said:

slurpy said:

30% YoY growth and this “misses” expectations?

what the fuck has this world come to. 

It’s Apple, what more can anyone say? According to Wall Street the company is a failure. I had to order my financial advisor to put some AAPL in my portfolio. He did so reluctantly. 

My 401k holdings are about the same value as my AAPL stock.  The AAPL stock was purchased between 2003 and 2008 with an initial investment of ~15K.  On average I have put in 15K per year into my 401K since 2002.  Whilst the 401K has done okay it pales into insignificance compared to the performance of AAPL. 
Of course there has been ups and downs but the same can be said for my 401K funds.  If I had listened to my financial advisors I would have half of the value in my retirement fund.
Sure it is risky to have a lot in one stock but since it really only cost me 15K it has been worth the risk.  Also I know Apple's performance and stability very well and whilst the market has knee jerk reactions, I have yet to see any signs that Apple is faltering in their approach.  If anything, innovations like AppleSilicon, continuing iPhone success, growth of the services business and wearables makes me more bullish than ever.

This looks like a great machine for those who want good performance, a larger screen and lighter weight.  Ideal for those who travel a lot.  The price point is significantly cheaper than the 16 inch MBP.  For those who largely web surf and for college students this is a perfect fit.
I agree having a USB point on both sides would have been nice but not necessarily a deal breaker.