semi_guy

Many factors:

• Raw material and their scarcity have driven semiconductor prices up. 
• Covid-19 related expenses (more masks, hand sanitizer, more cleaning, divisors, better filters, greater health insurance costs, etc). 
• Higher gas prices have led to higher shipping costs. Many semiconductors are manufactured in one place (Taiwan, US, Korea, Japan, China, Germany, France, Italy, etc.), but assembled (placed into a package) and tested in another country (Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, etc.)
• Labor costs have gone up as well since low unemployment leads to increases in pay to keep current workers or might need to pay more in high risk Covid-19 areas where the workers are exposed to greater risk.

22july2013 said:

Apple hasn't brought iMessage to Android, apparently from fear that some users will leave the Apple ecosystem. But Apple is bringing the Apple TV app to other platforms. I wonder why this inconsistency exists.

Maybe because Apple does not make a TV. They are trying to sell the Apple TV+ service and not require Apple TV hardware. iMessage is not a service you subscribe, so it's not something they are trying to promote.

r002092 said:

Also… the virus was suppressed outside our doors because we were huddled inside our homes… granted effective test and trace from the outset MAY have prevented that but we actually have no way of knowing that for sure, since the only thing that has really been shown to suppress the spread in any country has included an element of mass isolation

If we actually had done that we would not be dealing with this virus a year later. But that was impossible, people need to get food and groceries, many had to work, many had to care for those that got sick and family members that could care for themselves, many still disobeyed the rules and went out to rallies, parties, and spring breaks, and so on. If all the people that went out actually wore masks and kept social distance, then this virus would have been wiped out in a few weeks. Sadly, many did not believe the virus, much less wearing masks and compromised the rest.

Moreover, if the virus did not spread by asymptomatic carriers, it would be easy to spot who was contagious and keep distant while in public. Contact tracing is to identify those that really need to isolate and follow the rules because someone next to them was asymptomatic, did not wear a mask properly, or kept socially distant and could have potentially transmitted it to the user.

Where we live in Louisiana NFC is accepted at our grocery stories and pharmacies. From national retailers like Whole Foods, Target, Walgreens, and CVS, to local merchant POS terminals as well. Only caveat is our local grocery chain doesn’t have it set to not require signatures via the tethered e-pen on the POS, somewhat defeating the purpose. 

Home Depot and Lowe’s remain holdouts. Annoyingly so, considering Home Depot’s customer data breech. In Dallas, it is pretty much Target that consistency support it. WalMart, Kroger, Tom Thumb, Aldi do not. CVS and Walgreens claim to support ApplePay, but the stores around here do not. The Home Depot, Lowe's, and Elliots do not support it either. In many eating places the employees do not know they support Apple Pay. We have to keep saying, your company supports it, just run it through as a credit card and you will see. We get a lot of blank stares, calling the manager and telling them they do not know what to do. Many times, the manager does not know either until they finally run the charge through and are amazed they did not need to do anything. Some stores supported it, then an update to their POS took ApplePay away.