Fatman

I've tried the basic tier ($35ish) DirectTV and Vue services using various devices. Neither will give you the quality,DVR capabilities, channel selection or ALL major networks that cable does - so at this time you get what you pay for. But if you must choose - get Vue for its DVR capabilities and DirectTV for its channel choice. Expect more glitches in reception with DirectTV. AppleTV offers most consistent streaming quality over FireTV and Roku - I've tried both services on all 3 devices. Ironically iPads, phones and computers edge out streaming devices. Both services, at least at the lowest price do not give you all (4) live major networks - so you will miss various MLB, NFL and award shows, etc.

Pretty simple solution - sell an iMac without the motherboard and storage. Essentially it's now an external monitor. Just need input ports, and display circuitry. AND IT WILL BE THE SAME HEIGHT AS AN IMAC! Come on TIm Cook!

People replace a phone about every 29 months - high unit sales reflect new buyers, convertors from other platforms, and upgraders from a prior model. Phones sell one per person and they may need replacement due to damage prior to the 29 month mark. Tablets have longer replacement cycles, I guess double that of a phone (maybe a reader has a stat on this?). Often tablets are shared (say one per family/classroom, etc). So ... they sell less units and they are replaced less frequently. Plus tablets aren't subject to replacement due to damage as often as phones since people aren't using them as 'actively'. In order to sustain growth, NEW buyers are needed annually, this is challenging since the market is smaller and arguably shrinking(?) since, as prior comment states, larger 'phablets' have replaced the need for tablets in some situations.

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.

Forget the exploding batteries it's the security or lack thereof of the Android platform that should worry Samsung users. My parents bought phones (didn't want to spend more for iPhones) Their credit card and bank accounts were hacked a month later due to an app that relayed info to a third party. Still dealing with the repercussions ...