FileMakerFeller

AppleInsider said:

While many businesses focus primarily on top-line sales, Apple's strategy emphasizes the importance of gross margins, which typically enjoy high gross margins.

While the grammar here is below my expected standards for a professional publication, the point being made is worth emphasising: by concentrating on improving gross margins, Apple's business has strategic stability - from a financial perspective it doesn't matter to the company exactly what an individual purchaser is spending money on. This diversification of income streams makes Apple resilient to shifts in consumer sentiment.

My guess is that the extra GPU oomph required to drive the new display is (not coincidentally) the primary reason for the improvement from previous models.

The added support in 1.3 seems mainly for devices that are much more likely to cause a fire - I see the delay as acceptable IF it is due to added safety measures.

Then again, I struggle to see the reason for adding automation features to a microwave or convection oven or a cooktop. The food has to be placed in/on it, so that is clearly the best time to invoke functions and doing it manually is superior. The one scenario that comes to mind is movement-restricted users who have an assistant come in for part of the day and set up meals for reheating later. But even then, thawing will occur and the heating time needs to be adjusted to account for that - not really an ideal situation for automation.

AppleInsider said:

Apple Pencil 1st Generation

Largely a legacy model, with a now-limited lifespan, the original Apple Pencil was introduced in 2015. It features a female Lightning connector used to charge and pair with compatible iPad models. It also features an entirely round design, whereas all newer Apple Pencil models feature one flattened side to prevent rolling off flat surfaces.

First generation Apple PencilFirst generation Apple PencilFirst generation Apple Pencil

That's not a female connector.

The AVP is a low end disruption device. It does fewer things than the Quest, but it does those things EXTREMELY well. And a lot of the things the AVP does not do right now are clearly going to be available via software updates - the processing power on this thing exceeds that of an iPad Pro, where several such features already exist.

Just like with the iPhone, Apple wants to be sure it has nailed the interaction model and can build on a solid foundation so it can scale to tens (if not hundreds) of millions of users.

As for Zack's comments about the mobile space being 'closed' because of what Apple did... (a) there's a company called Google, you may have heard they have a mobile OS; (b) despite the protestations of several developers there is still money to be made in mobile; (c) a significant number of customers prefer Apple's approach; and (d) Facebook is charging a larger platform fee for the Quest than Apple does for iOS.