rattlhed

Like you, my risk tolerance was much higher when I was working.  After retirement, you begin to realize your time to make up for the “downs” is much less.  I have yet to have a financial planner give me the answer to “when is it time to switch from long term goals to short team goals.” I also am worried like you the political establishment will decide I was too responsible when I skipped buying things to save for the future.  They may think, now that I have a considerable amount saved, some portion of it should go to the “less fortunate.”  While I truly believe there are some less fortunate people who deserve help, many of those I know are really ones that lived by the moment and spent beyond their means not thinking about the future.

The only option you have is to vote for those who you "hope" will represent your values.  There are a lot of politicians who believe you don't deserve to keep your wealth, no matter how you earned it.  Worked hard all your life, saved every year, avoided unnecessary spending.  Now you have a nice nest egg saved up.  But you're evil because you have accumulated that wealth and now we want to tax you to give to the less fortunate.  Completely backwards thinking in my opinion.  November 3rd is a very important date.

tomasulu said:

Apple used to have the best tech and components because they sell at a premium and customer experience is not sacrificed at the altar of profiteering. 

But like the Apple before jobs second return, im starting to have pangs of envy comparing its products against the competition. I think it’s safe to say that iPhones, at least on the hardware side, is falling further and further behind the likes of Samsung Xiaomi Huawei and OnePlus flagships. The Apple se is not even competing on the same weight class as Google pixel 4a. The ugly notch, thick bezel, small battery, average still cam with weak zoom, terrible selfie cam, Face ID that’s so inconvenient in our masked up world, average screen, etc. And now they want to nickel and dime its customers just to include 5g which was available for more than a year in some cheap android phones?! I think this is the year for me to finally make the switch to Android. 

I agree.  Although my plans won't be to switch to Android, I will be hanging on to my 11 Pro for this year's upgrade cycle if the leaks are true.  I do have phone envy, very strong phone envy with all the flagships coming out.  Gorgeous 120hz screens, pinhole cameras, edge to edge bezels, subsonic fingerprint readers (yes, I really miss fingerprint unlock) super quality cameras (though Apple's cameras are probably the best feature).  These flagships are making the iPhone look like tech from 4 years ago.  I love my Apple products but man I wish they would get off their ass and blow us away.  Why the hell can't they do 120hz?  A $2 Trillion company can't do that?  5G is the least important feature for the next cycle of phones in my opinion.  

GeorgeBMac said:

So, what does 120Hz refresh do for you?   Is it only for gaming?

Likewise:

What is "10 bit color depth" and what does that do for you?   (actually, sounds suspiciously like "a two-bit frill").

Should I be excited about either of these?  Do they justify the 2/3's markup over the base iPhone 12?   (Yeh, I know there are other sifferences, but they don't interest me)

Faster refresh rate means less screen blur when scrolling, display is sharper.  I have witnessed this when upgrading to a 144hz gaming monitor from my old standard 60hz. Even in Windows when moving windows around the screen and scrolling web pages the display is so much easier on the eyes.  Motion blur is almost non-existent and it's more like reading a page in a book vs. a digital screen.  You have to see it to understand but it's a big upgrade.  How this translates to a smaller form factor like a phone I can't say, but it sure sounds promising.
Faster refresh also means better registering of physical input.  Taps, pinch to zoom, etc. all respond better since the screen is taking faster inputs.  Should create a better interface feeling with the phone.  
As for whether the price increase is justified we'll just have to wait until we get our hands on it.  I have an 11 Pro and I'm still not sure I'll be upgrading this year or waiting until next year.  A lot depends on what Lydar has to offer and if the camera upgrades are significant enough.  My 11 Pro is still a workhorse, battery is going strong after 9 months and it's snappier as always, so it's going to have to impress a lot to get me to pay for the next version.

This is a bummer.  I love Joe and his podcast is outstanding.  Great interviewer and has a broad range of guests and subject matter.  i can't keep up with all the podcasts but I can usually get through 1-2 a week.  I'm not a Spotify subscriber so once this goes exclusive I will miss Joe.  But this is not going to entice me to join Spotify, I'll stick with Apple Music.

Apple music does a 'good' job of getting it right.  The incorporation into my music library is indispensable.  Add an album in iTunes as it's added to my music library and instantly available on all my Apple devices.  Since I run with just my Apple Watch all the time, having my entire library on my watch is a feature I can never give up.
But I agree with others on here, the playlists and recommends are pretty poor.  I've never used Spotify or Amazon music so I can't compare to them.  But as a heavy metal fan, if the band is not mainstream then chances are Apple Music isn't going to recommend it.  I'm sure metal is a very small % of their user base, so they are not going to spend as much time curating quality playlists like they will for pop and rap, but I do feel like a forgotten minority on their product.  
But as someone who is very passionate about music I have my sources for finding music that fits my tastes. Bandcamp is an excellent service that lets me follow users with like minded taste and I get notified when they purchase music. I've discovered countless bands through their recommendations.  Also, whenever I decide to buy an album that I love, I'll do it on Bandcamp since their downloads are DRM free.  Plus there's music on there (especially in the underground metal scene) that is not available in Apple Music. Overall for $17 a month (family plan) Apple Music can't be beat and I love the service.