ApplePoor

Today's world is "just in time inventory" so the car production line stops if the ashtray is delayed or a door comes in the wrong color.... I remember in the late 90s a Chrysler/Dodge mini van came in. One side had the Dodge trim and other side had the more up market Chrysler trim. I never did understand how that car made it out of the factory, onto a truck and then to the dealership.

The issue for Apple is there is no one else to blame now for delays or screw ups. They write the operating system and ancillary programs and design the products said programs are to operate there on. Software seems  to be basically created outside of China and production of the hardware is off shore except for a few small items. They select the manufacturer who only builds to Apple's specifications.

TSMC makes chips and processes the wafer to create the individual A series or M series chips and sends them to FoxCon in China (or wherever the plant in question is located).

So the big interface is between the software designers and the hardware designers so the special tidbits for function A are also designed into Chip Series A or M or both so the big new thing works. Lots of holes in the floor where a few "bits" could get dropped and the whole deal fails....

Just did the math on the Apple website and the 15" M3 MBAir (24GB ram and 2 TB SSD)  cost is $2,299.00 before taxes and Apple Care, The same specs for a 14" MBPro M4 are available for $2,399.00 before taxes and Apple care.

So for just $100 more one gets a better screen (with option for a nano screen at more cost) and more ports. 

Since the M3 was a real challenge to make, I wonder if the M2 models will continue as the low cast versions when the M4 chips are installed? They could just ignore the fact of the M3 existence.

Not a surprise really that Apple got caught with their pants down. Too much time and money wasted on the "never saw the light of day" car.  The "googles" have consumed untold resources, too and have not been a runaway success in terms of sales. Frankly, usable Apple's AI is years away and could become a serious concern financially as investors loose confidence.

Apple has morphed from a small and fast Navy Destroyer to a more than cumbersome Battleship. The latter finally gets up to speed and requires vast space to change course or turn around let alone stop.

The incremental changes or improvements in their "core" revenue source, the iPhone, are an embarrassment when one sees what the competitors are pushing out. 

The comments here in the peanut gallery should be a five alarm file in the Board of Directors meetings such as the lack of more and more folks upgrading annually as there is just not enough change to justify a $2,000 expenditure for the top model with full memory - their most profitable model.

The incremental change of their most popular laptop (MacBook Air) is a chip change from the M3 to the M4. Wow! ???????

Just observations of an Apple user since1990 into computers since the early 1970s.

YMMV

Once Apple has  their C* (* = some number) modem plus their own Bluetooth chip integrated their iPhones, I doubt the other vendors will be able to match the usable daily time on the new equipment. Great.  But my iPhone 16 Pro Max could go nearly two days now with my use.

Amazing improvements coming also in survellience........