DAalseth

These “Artificial Intelligence” systems, including Apple’s are not ‘intelligent’ at all. They are a statistical algorithm based on frequency of word usage in the training data and interpretation of the waveform of the word spoken. OK, this one is clear enough to attract attention, but try dictating something and watch the screen. The systems, no matter whose you use, very often substitute a word, or two, or three, before they get to the one you want. It’s the nature of the beast. 

When I first heard about Apple getting a cut from sales outside of the AppStore I thought it was wrong and would come back to bite Apple in the ***. 30% to offset the cost of running the store was fine. But once someone loads the app I never agreed with Apple claiming a cut of sales from other people’s stores. That always struck me as abusive.

yyzguy said:

michelb76 said:

If anything this model will make people look at Android phones at the same price point. Not great.

Nah.  Apple users are going to stay loyal to the Apple ecosystem.   We’re just going to buy refurbished late model iPhones.   See my other comment somewhere here,

I think a lot of SE buyers are just looking for ‘a phone’ to make calls, do email, and text, maybe. If Apple doesn’t have an inexpensive model, they’ll step across the aisle. I think a lot of them will. 

Eliminating Qualcomm modems will save Apple billions annually, as Apple paid around $23 per modem and $8 in patent fees per device

So, should we expect a major price drop this fall? I’m not holding my breath. I expect them to bump the 17 prices up by $100-$200, based on what they did with the 16E. 

And I assure you, Apple isn't going to let you disable the feature after a while,

That’s the point where I’m outta the Apple Ecosystem.