doggone

I estimate that >99% of iPhone users do not care about getting apps outside of the App Store.  I also estimate that the majority of those are also happy not to have to worry about apps stealing their data or having to deal with viruses etc.  The rest probably don't even think about it and buy into the system because it is so easy.
So the question is do we have give the <1% who want an open, whilst the rest of us have to deal with less security and easy of use.

If Apple really did sell 180K in 18 minutes, that meant the revenue was around 630 million dollars.  That isn't bad for a high end equipment with limited supply.

I have definitely preferred the experience with the AppleCard vs. the other card I have.  The phone app is great.  The only downside is not being able to link the data to a financial app.
Does it make sense for Apple to take over the whole shebang?  Apple already get most of the profit from the card use and it may be hard to get another CC company to honor the same deal.  This would widen their services portfolio and allow them to control the experience completely.
Synchrony does sound like a good idea.  Their website and service is very poor.

The form factor for the iMac has bothered me for years now.  The chin on the display is unnecessary and apple should be placing the circuit boards behind the screen.  Essentially all you should see from the front is the screen with the bezel just big enough to house the camera.
I agree that the iMac is on its last legs.  It has limited utility as an all in one for young kids, schools and maybe kiosks or receptionists.  Any other use is better served by a laptop that you can easily hook up a display to when you want to work at a desk.
I agree on the pricing for SSD and RAM and the miniimum configuration really needs to be 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. Unfotunately that is where Apple makes free money so i don't see it ending. Personally I just by the model that has the configuration I want.  It generally is cheaper than doing a custom configuration and the delivery is faster.

Buying them isn't so easy.  TH ecurrent market cap for MASI is 4.3M.  Back in April it was 3 times as much.  Apple won't want to spend that for a measily O2 sensor.  So licensing would be the way to go if the gov't agrees with the ban.