rare comment

GeorgeBMac said:

seanismorris said:

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Buying a refurbished or used Android is probably an eBay experience... it’s Russian roulette on quality.

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I completely disagree with your assessment of EBay.  I've been using them for years and find them to MORE reliable than any other online service.   Yes, you have to be careful and check out both the product and vendor but after several hundred purchases I can say that I have only been disappointed twice - and both times EBay made the seller accept a full refund, postage paid, return while I have saved thousands of dollars.  A big part of that are the seller ratings:   I have never had a problem with a high volume seller with a 99+% rating.

I buy everything from EBay:  from parts to repair my old lawnmower, to stupid little items I can't find elsewhere to major purchases.

My most recent purchase were some zipper pulls to replace a broken zipper tab on a favorite jacket.

Before that it was a 2014 MacBook Air that runs perfectly -- $220.

I don't think seanismorris was suggesting EBay isn't reliable for purchases (I hope not - I agree that EBay sellers have been honest in my opinion).  It's the contrast between buying a used phone on EBay vs. buying from APPLE itself.  The level of confidence that a buyer gets from an OEM seller, even if it is a used device, is hugely valuable.  The warranty alone is a massive selling point.  Thus the creation of "pre-owned" programs at BMW, etc. to capture much higher resale prices for used cars than is typical.

This is especially hard for others to emulate.  Beyond software (as others have already noted), there is the Apple Store and Applecare.  Both of these operate to encourage high quality repairs and act to allow close monitoring of quality (for current and future improvements).  A phone that has been serviced entirely by Apple is much easier for Apple to confidently resell to someone else with a warranty.  

http://q10a1.blogspot.com/2017/10/apples-i.html

Folio said:

1. More Apple health sensors around wrists, in ears, on eyeglasses, maybe cars and clothes. 2. Trusted privacy and security record and policy. 3. Algorithms and AI etc acting on years of your personal data and Siri could turn into quite a diagnostic nurse, maybe more. And then the institutional side, access to all your health records— even if scattered or you’re traveling. New sense of “AppleCare”

Taken one step further, it's the Apple "i" [eye]. http://q10a1.blogspot.com/2017/10/apples-i.html

For your entertainment, my (tongue in cheek) thoughts on the evolution of Apple wearables to health devices from October 2017. But maybe not so silly now? http://q10a1.blogspot.com/2017/10/apples-i.html

anantksundaram said:

It is impressive to see how many third-party makers of speakers/audio products are increasingly integrating their products with Google and Alexa -- HK, Sonos, Sony, Bose to name just a few.

Are there any (other than Apple itself) that integrate Siri?

I think Sonos does. https://www.imore.com/how-use-siri-and-alexa-your-sonos-speaker

A nice discussion of the keyboard vs both other Macs and other makers (especially Lenovo) would be very interesting given the focus on Mac laptop keyboards over the past months.