gatorguy said:

anantksundaram said:

muthuk_vanalingam said:

gmgravytrain said:

GeorgeBMac said:

To be honest, my experience was quite different:
When the iPhone came out I had been using a Samsung smart phone for years.   Actually, it was two devices in one:  a phone and a Palm OS based PDA...  

The major difference between it and the iPhone was the keyboard.  The physical keyboard was easier to use -- but then it restricted the screen size to less than half of what it could be -- so it was a mixed blessing.

And, to be honest, the Palm OS PDA seemed to me to be more functional than anything on the iPhone:  As a tech manager it kept track of everything I needed it to keep track of and did it very well.  Then, later as I transitioned into healthcare, it stored medical reference books that I needed quick access to...

But, as time went on the Palm OS went into decline while Apple continued to improve the iPhone.  And eventually I transitioned to iPhone...

You're entitled to like what you like regardless of what other people think of you.  You used the Palm PDA for what you needed it for and when it no longer suited you, you changed products.  It's just good to keep an open mind.  So many people form an instant hate for products they have little experience with.  How can a person simply look at a product and say it's no good without even trying it?  It seems so many tech-heads form an opinion from things they really know nothing about and it's really not fair.  Apple seems like a target for people when it comes to forming instant negative opinions when history shows they're mostly wrong.  Always give new products a chance.  Try it and if you don't like it, that's fine.  I just don't like it when people say it's no good for everyone else.

Ah, for a moment I thought you are talking about people in this forum ridiculing Android smartphones, based on problems with 4 year old android phones without even trying them in 2016 or 2017!!! Ok, it is about tech media in your post. But isn't it true the other way round as well?

You're being too facile. I think you fail to appreciate that the disdain here for Android (and its hardware makers) runs much, much deeper than your presumed "problems with 4 year old phones."

You might wish to brush up on some of the history, especially the role that Schmidt played (with his being on Apple's board, his subsequent firing), Andy Rubin, the Apple-Samsung legal saga, etc.

I realize it's a popular meme to claim that Schmidt was stealing Apple trade secrets and taking them back to Google. And that's all it amounts to: A meme with not even circumstantial evidence behind it, much less anything factual. We all know there are no claims from Apple who unless Steve Jobs was incompetent and or/they are scared of Google would certainly have filed suit against them. Neither is likely. They sure didn't hesitate taking on Samsung, their biggest supplier, when they thought they were stealing iPhone tech. Sued HTC too when they thought they were getting a bit too close to iPhone design. But you are absolutely correct that casual readers or new members may well underestimate "the disdain here for Android and it's hardware makers". For some the hate is strong (says Palpatine).  It does sometimes make discussions more difficult when dealing with emotional reactions instead of thoughtful ones but not at all impossible, and certainly worthwhile to have. This forum is one of the few public facing ones that I'm aware of with so many very highly educated industry veterans. 

... and FWIW Alphabet still has an employee on Apple's board, but no one seems too terribly concerned about it. 

Tch,tch. One can always tell a revisionist Android apologist by the way they resort to smoke-screening what really came down in the early days of the iPhone. Yes, Google basically ripped off Apple's iOS. They got away with it by not making a direct profit (indirectly they made a huge profit) on Android, since they gave it away for free. Thus, Apple was forced to go after the hardware manufacturers, specifically Samsung, who were directly profiting off of the Android rip-off.

But what's new, eh? Windows was also a direct rip-off of Apple's OS. Not hard to do since Microsoft literally got it's start writing Word and Excel for the Macintosh long before they ported them over to Windows.

So yeah, many of us have nothing but disdain for Google. I personally have a bit less disdain for Microsoft these days since they at least made an effort to create their own OS from scratch this time around.

Back to lurking....

As Braeburn Group founder Robert Paul Leitao said recently on PED30.com:

"As of the end of the June quarter, Apple has repurchased 17.55% of the fully diluted share count from the peak in Q4 FY2012. In less than four years the company has removed a net 1.165 billion shares from the count inclusive of new shares that have been issued to employees under the stock-based compensation plan."

He also said:

"At today’s closing price, Apple’s dividend yield is about 2.15% representing a higher yield for shareholders than Apple can achieve, on average, with its massive cash and equivalents balances. Consequently, each dollar “saved” on dividends through repurchases provides a greater return to long-term shareholders than what might be achieved at this time on an equal sum. Apple has chosen to borrow funds as a means to facilitate a portion of the repurchases and forestall the need to repatriate foreign-sourced earnings for the same purpose. Borrowing rates are at historically low levels. The return on Apple’s cash and equivalents, which in sum remain much larger than the amounts borrowed, may cover the cost of all interest as well as the principal payments that are due over time...the dividend per share won’t remain static and the dividends “saved” on each repurchased share will increase each year and the cash saved each year on dividends on the repurchased shares will continue pretty much in perpetuity."

I'd also note that the trading volume since Apple started buying back shares has decreased dramatically. Apple is drying up the pool available for ready trade. Supply and demand are linked, and the supply is decreasing rapidly. It's a no-brainer that, as long as Apple continues to reap this kind of net income, demand is going to drive the price of AAPL higher and higher.

Wrong, wrong, wrong!

Katy Huberty just put the lie to this crappy rumor.

http://ped30.com/2016/06/21/apple-huberty-calls-bs/

What's with AppleInsider all of a sudden? This is just click-bait. Or maybe the WSJ is now helping pay your bills?

At least report the alternative POV.

SHEESH!

PED lists Apple's response (Why didn't you, AppleInsider???):

http://ped30.com/2016/06/17/apple-beijing-iphone-halt-patent/

From Apple PR:

“The reports aren’t accurate. Here’s our comment: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone SE models are all available for sale today in China. We appealed an administrative order from a regional patent tribunal in Beijing last month and as a result the order has been stayed pending review by the Beijing IP Court.”

Also, as zzbar on Braeburn Group said:

“I’m sure it’s pure coincidence that on this quadruple witching day, a month-old story just happen to surfaced on two major financial media outlet (Bloomberg and wsj). What are the odds that some guy sent wsj and bbg the link to Beijing IP bureau’s web statement dated May 19, 2016?”

Here's a recent article on quadruple witching day:

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/quadruple-witching-what-it-is-and-why-you-should-know-this-cm636995

pscooter63 said:

sacto joe said:

The highly milled edges of the aluminum housing. As an ex-CNC machinist, I can guarantee you that you can't make those edges quickly.

Note that the 6 series doesn't have milled edges, and hence is far easier to ramp up production on.
BTW, I think the 5 series was one of the most beautiful iPhones ever produced. Just a shame that it's so hard to make....

If you're talking about the chamfered, polished edges on the 5/5S... you do realize they dispensed with those on the SE, right?

No, I didn't know that. I just assumed it was the same form factor. Well, that leaves exactly one reason for the shortage. Unexpected demand.