ApplePoor

Old saying: "The proof is in the pudding".  

The satellite company, with Apple's financing, has to launch many (number not disclosed) new satellites to give good coverage just within the US proper let alone Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico or Canada or even other US territories. The coverage has to be across our borders to the North and South so there is solid coverage within all of the USA.

I see this as a multi-year plan and it could be three or four years before useful operation. Musk has been launching thousands of new satellites for coverage and his pockets are perhaps deeper than Apple's pockets for just this one marketing claim.

The SAT phone business will do very well world wide for many years. There are not other options for most of the remote land masses.

I have a M1 Max 14" MBPro (64GB & 4TB SSD) and a M1 Ultra MacStudio (128GB & 8TB SSD). Apple depreciated the MacStudio nearly 75% in one year for a trade in value. Not quite as bad for the laptop. Both are able to run the latest MacOS. Both still work fine for my needs. Both have Apple Care going forward. 

Unless any of the software I use suddenly needs a M4 or M5 to run, I am content to keep the jingle in my pockets.

I recognize the difference between a "want" or a "need".  I may want the latest and greatest but I do not need it for what I do. Thus in the "soldered" world that Apple has now created, I order the maximum system memory and the largest SSD I think I could possibly need for my use for years.

I enjoy watching the "dog and pony" show for the new stuff and the last few years they have really had to work to generate apparent enthusiasm for their new products with small incremental changes.

It reads if the device is currently under extended warranty, then they can service it. The magic phrase is under a current extended warranty.

When traveling around the world, AmEx is accepted at some of the major hotels and some of the top restaurants. Virtually no use in rural European or South American areas nor the seven countries of southern Africa we visited several years ago. Most of the airlines will take American Express for tickets.

So one really needs a VISA and/or a Mastercard to cover the bases when traveling. Also a debit card for local currency at  cash points.

I think the bad debt experience at GS is only a result of their poor selection process to allow new customers. Their lust after the exhorbiant interest rates on credit card debt blinded them to the fact that those high interest rates are because of defaults. Since they accepted marginally qualified customers, then there should be no surprise at their losses. Greed does often have dire consequences.