jasenj1

I think this goes to Intel being perceived as a parts supplier rather than a consumer device producer. They do the research and proof of concept devices, then get some consumer brand to turn it into a product people will buy.

If you want some more fine-grained control of your sound, I recommend Boom. I don't use all its fancy "enhancement" features, but I have created EQ curves for different earbuds, headphones, & speakers.

I can't say I'm excited about Apple becoming a content company as well as a hardware, software, & services company. I'd rather Tim Cook and the other executives be concerned about Mac OS & making sure software updates get proper testing before release rather than whether to stay true to a book or veer off into "creative original" plots.
 
Provide a platform for Netflix, Amazon, CBS, etc. to display their content on.

iOS gaming is to console & PC gaming as the HomePod is to a dedicated home theater system.

On raw numbers, I expect far more people play games on iOS devices than consoles. I wouldn't be surprised if there is more money being made in iOS games than console games. But that doesn't make the experiences "on par". When iOS can push 4K & Dolby Atmos to an AppleTV with a dedicated controller and over 40GB of content, then you can claim "on par". But as someone else mentioned, "on par" is meaningless without knowing what attributes are being compared.

I'm too lazy too look up the Facebook Terms of Service/User Agreement at the moment. But don't most of these things say anything you put on the platform becomes the property of the service provider and they can do whatever the heck they want with it? And don't forget the arbitration clauses saying you won't sue the company no matter what happens, but will instead use arbitration (chosen & paid for by the company; i.e. the arbitrator will side with the company).

Facebook is free because user eyeballs & information is the product.

IMHO, this is all political posturing and grandstanding. I would completely expect that this same sort of data leak has happened many times with other data harvesting companies. It's only news because the "evil" Trump campaign is involved. I'd love to see someone investigate similar data analytic practices on the Democratic side of the fence - I wouldn't be surprised if they used the same company & same data.