wrbluepearl

I suspect it was a matter of supply, more than demand. Lots of iPad SKUs, from the mini to the Pro, were sold out in November and December at Best Buy, the Apple Store, B&H, Adorama, etc.  My stepdaughter and I both got new iPads in January, because that was the soonest we could actually get them (a 12.9 Pro for her, a mini for me).

rcfa said:

Much more useful would be an e-ink display on the back of iDevices: personalized appearance, reading, (subway)maps, QR codes (tickets, vaccination certificates) on the phone in an always-on (even without battery charge left) state.  THAT is useful, not a flip phone.

Gotta say, I really like the e-ink display suggestion - using it for displaying subway passes, event tickets, airline boarding passes etc. rather than having to wake up and unlock the phone like you do now would be killer.

Other potentially useful ideas-
- Use the iPhone's face id to unlock your Mac.
- Monitor ambient noise levels and warn the user if there's a danger of hearing damage.

I guess I'm not surprised that Apple is in third place behind Amazon and Google in this race, given that Amazon relentlessly pushes really inexpensive Echo speakers on their website - Echo Dots are often available for $30, vs $100 for a HomePod Mini, vs. $300 for a HomePod.  The real question is how does HomePod Mini sell against the $100 Amazon Echo?
Also, are they counting purely Amazon/Google products, or other compatible devices like Sonos Ones in this count?  I have a couple of Sonos Ones and Beams that support Echo and Home, but have the feature turned off...but I guess that probably still "counts" toward the totals for those services.

For All Mankind is the only thing I've watched on AppleTV+.  Looking forward to Season 2.

tmay said:

ARM is intended to drive costs down, with better battery life, for a lower price point. That says Mac Book or Mac Book Air, not desktops. I'd argue that there is a significant proportion of Mac users who have never needed X86 compatibility, I certainly haven't, so eliminate it from initial products. Let current Mac developers reap the benefit of providing new capabilities and opportunities to ARM Mac users.

Totally agree that the 12" Retina MacBook is the form factor to be looking for here.  You could make it even thinner and lighter while retaining the terrible keyboard!