mfryd
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How Apple stockpiled iPhones to avoid tariffs and keep prices low for a while
The problem is that the current tariff situation creates a financial disincentive to manufacture in the USA.lukevaxhacker said:Very simple in concept: return production to the U.S., although hasn't been done for years. Remember the Fremont plant…Costs are higher in the USA (especially with tariffs on imported raw materials), so products manufactured in the USA might not be competitively priced compared to products made overseas and subject to US tariffs.Products made in the USA are certainly not cost competitive in the international market due to reciprocal tariffs.The policies of the US Federal government have been changing rapidly. Business can't rely on the policies today being at all similar to the policies that will be in effect 1, 2 or even 5 years from now.Betting on targeting the US market seems like a bad move. The economy is tanking, and consumer costs are dramatically rising. Why invest in the US market when it looks like it's going into a depression. The last time we tried to use tariffs to get out of a depression, the depression lasted 10 years.All of these things combined serve to discourage business from investing in US based manufacturing. It makes much more business sense to manufacture elsewhere. Keep in mind that most of Apple's sales are outside the USA. If Trump makes Apple choose between the shrinking US market and the international market, it makes business sense to choose the larger International market.
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Apple doesn't appear to have plans to revive the iPhone mini
Apple is in the business of making money as a whole. That means that it should look at how a product affects the overall profitability of the company, not whether that product is directly producing a profit.charlesn said:
Please. Stop your descent into the conspiracy theory rabbit hole. It's really pretty simple: Apple is a publicly owned, for profit company that is in the business of making products that sell well enough to generate sufficient profit to justify keeping them in the product lineup. It keeps making the products that earn their keep and stops making the ones that don't. End of story, The Mini would still be in the lineup if it sold in sufficient numbers, and the story of what one dealer told you for a product that sells globally is absolutely meaningless. Do you think Apple is happy about EOL'ing a new product after just two cycles? Absolutely not. It's questionable if they even made back their costs for research and development of the Mini, costs for tooling and production, design, marketing, etc. after just two years. This isn't to say that the Mini didn't have its fans, and a lot of them, just not enough to make it worthwhile to keep around. Notice also that no major Android manufacturer, even though they seem to run with every new gimmick feature they can dream up, has stepped in to produce a truly premium mini phone--there's no high end Galaxy or Pixel Mini. That's further confirmation that a sufficiently big market for a premium mini phone is simply not there. It's also worth noting that Apple's low-priced and smaller iPhone SE was always the worst selling model in the whole iPhone lineup.prof said:hmlongco said:
People say they want one. Apple makes one. People don't buy one. Apple stops making one.
Rinse. Repeat.
People did buy it, one dealer I know told me that they sold more iPhone Minis months for months than any other non-Apple or Samsung brand model. Sometimes it's not entirely clear why Apple ditches a product; all bad sales rumours are only unconfirmed speculation.For instance, many companies will sell some products at a loss. This can bring in customers and increase overall profitability. Costco famously sells $1.50 hot dogs at their snack bar, and $5 rotisserie chickens. These prices are below cost. While Costco loses money on these items, they attract customers who usually end up buying lots of profitable products.
It can sometimes make sense to discontinue a profitable product if it is taking away sales from other more profitable products. Perhaps the profit on the iPhone Mini was noticeably less than the profit on other iPhones. In that case, Apple's overall profit might go up by discontinuing the Mini. While they may lose a few customers, they will make more profit from the remaining customers.
Now, I don't know Apple's actual motivation was. I am just pointing out that decisions on whether or not to keep a product in the lineup can be a bit more complicated than whether or not that product is directly generating a profit. -
President Trump is irritated about Apple not completely killing DEI initiatives
Many federal agencies issue cell phones to employees. For various reasons work phones must be separate from person phones. Often that federally issued work phone is an iPhone. I would image that the Feds buy an awful lot of iPhones.gwmac said:What Trump will likely do is ban any federal contracts with companies that still have strong DEI programs in place. I am not sure how much business Apple does with the federal government, but that would likely be a very good reason for Apple to significantly curtail if not eliminate DEI which in my opinion is a good thing.
As to whether DEI is a good thing or a bad thing, that's not the real issue here. Studies have shown that humans like being in a group, and they want to feel like their group is better than other groups. It is also common for humans to become upset if they think the other groups are gaining on them. Trump understands how to motivate people. His war on DEI, immigrants, etc., are primarily to build support by providing his supporters with groups they can feel better than. It turns out that with these sorts of issues, people tend to think emotionally. rather than rationally.Now, whether or not DEI, immigrants, etc., are bad or good, isn't the issue here. The rhetoric we are getting to justify these policies are emotional, and not based on facts. -
How to test your network or server using ping in Terminal
If you didn't specify the number of tests to run using the-cflag, press Control-C on your keyboard to end the tests.
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iPhone 18 Pro expected to have a variable aperture camera system
Being able to reduce the size of the aperture makes the lens “slower”, not faster.raymondai said:The purpose of variable aperture lens for mobile phone is not for bokeh, or not mainly for this.
It is for the speed.
The apertures are already as large as can be practically made, so it is doubtful that a variable aperture will allow the lens to be faster.
