humbug1873

bloggerblog said:

A Vision Pro could be your personal computer, just like bringing in a laptop or an iPad. Is this only for residents of Germany, are tourists exempt?

True and if push comes to shove you need to proof, that you bought your laptop in the EU. That can well be done after they 'caught' you (i.e. you went to the green lane and they randomly picked you for a control). Same goes for any valuables (Jewelery, Expensive Cameras, etc). In that case you have to provide proof in within a few weeks.

Since the Vision Pro is not available outside the US, it's essentially a clear case. You'll have to pay the taxes (19% in Germany if you declare it ... if you didn't it's twice that for punishment).

On the plus side: The honest importer will most likely financially not be worse off, than waiting to buy the product in the EU for final EU pricing (likely to be around 4800EUR). Even if he payed sales taxes in the US. Because the Apple EU prices are usually even way higher than US Price + EU Sales tax. Just did a little check on an iPad Pro you end up paying US Price + 19% Germany Sales Tax (EU sales taxes can be as high as 24%) + 17% on top because Apple can.

So in a country like the US, where usually you and up for decades in jail with major sums as restitution, he gets away with almost nothing in a plea deal!? Crazy.

Meta sells their users data to third party for advertisements. None of it goes through the App Store. At the same time software distribution goes completely through Apple for free.
Why would they go for a third party store and risk costs? Unless the third party store would pay Meta for it.
Who would a third party store would even bother to host them? Ok probably as a pull for users. But that would only work if it were exclusively on that 3rd party store and that would effectively limit Meta's exposure to their users significantly. I - as a European - will simply not accept any third party store on my device and I'm probably not alone.

Last but not least Marc Zuckerberg can show Apple how this is done right and open their (47% commision) Meta Quest to third party stores and show us how this is done right. We are waiting. (Oh wait they don't need to, because their Quest user base is too small).

'Number of active devices' is quite useless number. A simple desktop setup (macbook, studio display, keyboard, mouse) is already 4 active devices.  Much more interesting would be the number of active users, especially as a growth indicator.

obiwanbill said:

Haha … you obviously don’t listen to their earnings calls or read their financials.

TSLA is the most profitable car company, by far! I don’t own a TSLA and frankly I find their interiors quite spartan. However, many are willing to accept that and ❤️ their cars because of all the things TSLA does well … software updates, ALL electric, FAST and for the hope they deliver on Level 5 autonomy.

When they do … Profits go to the moon! 🚀

You better read the full financial details. Tesla is only 'profitable' thanks to tax dollars it get's payed, they are not profitable on their own.