doggone

When I got my M1 MBP at the beginning of 2022, the difference in performance over the previous Intel MBP was startling.  Everything was "snappier".  Apps open faster with less lag.  
For me though it is the battery life that is exceptional.  There is a game I play which is battery intensive.  The old machine would get hot and the battery only lasted an hour.  Now I can play up to 4 hours and still have battery left.  The same for watching videos, the battery lasts a lot longer on one charge. 
This machine is over 2 years old and still going strong.  I would love to get an M3 or M4 when it comes out but I really can't justify the new spend when this machine works so well.  Amazing.

Hopefully this won't mean someone will be able to fake transactions and steal money from me.  
I've just returned from the UK and I used Apple Pay successfully for nearly every transaction.  Still easier to use than in the US.

inkling said:

Expected updates as part of iOS 18 include a hearing aid mode feature destined for the AirPods Pro, while AirPods may gain a hearing test function.

My hearing isn't great but not so bad that I need the cost and hassles of a standard hearing aid. I'd be interested in an AirPod that dealt with that, but only at a reasonable price. Otherwise, I will just ask people to speak up. One more thing. The battery needs to be easily replaceable. 

I hear you about (pun intended) on use and cost of hearing aids.  I, myself, have poor hearing especially on the high end.  I do have in ear hearing aids and they help a bit when I use them.
One thing that will never happen is that AirPods will have replaceable batteries.  Apple came up with the charging case to make it easy and quick to charge the AirPods.  4-6 hours of active use may be longer if used simply for hearing improvement since it won't be receiving data via bluetooth.
It would be nice if the hearing aid feature could be adjustable for frequency.  I need more help in the high end so being able to tweak the amplification would be very useful.

It's great that TB is going up to the next level.  Even better that USB-C will work with the same connection.

This is all great for the high end equipment, but basic drives and monitors still are stuck on USB or HDMI/DP (even VGA!!!).  It takes years for the industry to catch up.

I have to agree that 512GB SSD and 16GB should be the base for MBPs.  For MB Air, I think there are customers that would be okay with just 256 SSD and 8 RAM, especially those who do mostly web surfing, zoom and Google docs.
The prices for increasing RAM and drive space are ridiculous though.  1TB SSDs can be had for $100.  16GB ram for less than $100 too.  Apple's margins on these are huge.
For that reason, I always buy my Macs online, generally using the AI guide to realize a savings of $200 or more on units with 512GB SSD and 16GB.  That negates Apple's surcharge to some degree.