bobolicious

Exactly.
This seems the new Apple since Jobs.
Why I am still using High Sierra on pro Macs from that era.
Why I no longer recommend macs, hoping (as unlikely as it may be) this will change, along with onboard memory, and all roads increasingly leading to the Cupertino iCloud.

THIS lifetime Apple user doesn't want ANYTHING on your foreign servers, encrypted or not, if for nothing more than dependence on the internet, the hack risk, the Patriot Act and the environment.

Apple's business, my wallet. So very disappointing after so many, many years.

Hopefully there will be testing of the top multi-thread (8 core) option for both speed and heat / noise soon...

...storage of course used to be upgradable, at less than perhaps half the cost via OWC and others: eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/S3DAPT4MB20/#top-of-results Many upgrades (or fixes) yes, however I still ask how 'onboard' storage serves customers better vs a slotted SSD on a lifecycle basis...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz

"Products becoming obsolete is never fun, especially as they continue to function and are reliable. But they can't be around forever"

...and yet is this actually a self serving myth from corporations that survive via anything new to market, designing questionable products to begin with...?

An unyielding notion of 'progress' when in fact physics doesn't change (much), and should such gambits beg challenging...?

For consideration one example of a most remarkable audio experience that remains essentially unchanged from decades ago: https://www.klipsch.ca/products/klipschorn-floorstanding-speaker

'Measure twice, cut once...?'

The Realistic Minimus speakers from the 1970s are also a well documented icon in the 'value' range lest critics suggest the Klipsch comparison unfair, but like so many things, does planned obsolescence become an unsustainable zeitgeist, like Apple forcing onboard ram and storage, and 'consumable' battery sealed earpods and peripherals - enough already...?

Apple wifi cuts out so often now I am ready to pack even AppleTV in.

I have WONDERFUL decades old analogue audiophile gear with transistors, caps and driver surrounds that can actually be repaired, and copper wires that actually seem to work every time I hit the power switch...

Don't even get me started on the premium branded 'smart' tv that I was told would be 'fixed' with a future upgrade... Yes not Apple product, and yet... A simple analogue (RCA or even 1/8" minijack) would make such more reliably usable. Analogue HomePod input anyone? Is it Airplay2 or AirPlay too bad...?